What Makes a Hero
by BeadleJuice
Summary: AU Diff. Chosen One Alive!Lily and Alive!James. Vivi Black has never been what one would call normal, even for a witch. After all, she's the Girl Who Lived. She grew up surrounded by both wizarding and muggle culture thanks to her aunt. Now she's being told that not only is her father alive, but he's a god. How will the world react to a girl who's two different kinds of half-blood?
1. Prologue

**What Makes a Hero**

_Prologue_

Sirius stood in the place the mysterious letter had asked him to come. Normally, he wouldn't have bothered because it was probably a trap, but the words had seemed so desperate and he was _sure_ the handwriting was familiar…

Still he knew it was stupid and that's why he'd asked James and Frank to come along, just in case. They were hiding out somewhere in the bushes, but he didn't know where. Plus he had his wand, out and ready to attack should this be a set up. He'd been standing there for what felt like hours when he heard a quiet pop nearby that signaled apparation. He checked his watch to find that the person was right on time – he'd been more than half an hour early just in case it was an ambush.

Footsteps approached with no attempt to hide them. They sounded just a little clumsy, but like they were trying to be firm and cultured. It was an odd contrast he'd only seen in the walk of a few people, like his little—

"Sirius!" a broken female voice exclaimed and suddenly he was pounced on by a smaller frame. A face buried itself in his chest and he was pretty sure the owner was crying.

The wizard blinked several time, dumbfounded, before looking down at the woman who was sobbing on him. "Lyra?" he asked. She nodded into his chest and the man wanted to wrap his arms around her and comfort her – this was his little sister! He would have felt like a jerk if he didn't do just that so he comforted the woman and waited until she finished crying before saying, "Lyra, I need you to tell me what I told you the Christmas night after my first year at school."

"You told me…" she sniffled a little and reached up to rub her eyes. "You said that I needed to get into Slytherin, no matter what."

"And?"

"And that I shouldn't try to hang out with you so Mum wouldn't get angry at me too."

The Marauder nodded and smiled, hugging his sister tight to his chest. "It's good to see you, kiddo." Then he pulled away and frowned severely at her. "I heard you joined the Death Eaters."

She bit her lip and fidgeted, the ground suddenly becoming a lot more interesting. "I did," she muttered. She looked up at him then, eyes still full of tears and desperation. "But I shouldn't have! Sirius, it's awful!"

"What happened?"

"He-he wanted to take Kreecher but he wouldn't tell me what for and I-I let him… I told Kreecher to make sure he came back and when he did— Sirius it's horrible! He-he—" She cut herself off and started to cry again, leaving her brother confused and nervous. He wrapped his arms tightly around his sister.

"This isn't the place to talk, Ly," he told her quietly, voice and face deadly serious. "Come on, I'll—"

The girl shook her head, pulling away. "I can't, Siri. I have something I have to do. I have to make things right."

"Then why did you ask me here? Why did you come?"

"Because you have to tell Dumbledore that he's right! You have to tell him that he's made them and he's hiding them!"

"Made what? And what's he hiding?"

"He'll know. And Siri I want you to promise to do something for me."

"What?"

"I can't tell you, but you have to promise me you'll do it."

"I can't promise something like that, Ly."

"Sirius. Please, I need you to promise me." There were tears in her eyes, desperate tears.

The brother pursed his lips and ran a hand through his hair. "Fine. I promise to do whatever it is you want me to do so long as it is within reason and doesn't involve me betraying my friends."

The girl threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. "Thanks Sirius." Then she let go of him and pulled away before apparating on the spot.

The man groaned. "What have you gotten yourself into, Lyra?" he muttered. "Hell, what have _I_ gotten _myself_ into?"

A hand landed lightly on his shoulder and Sirius nearly cursed the owner. Luckily, he realized it was just James before he did though. That wouldn't have been pleasant. "What do you think she'll ask for?"

The dog-man shook his head. "I don't know… I hope she doesn't do anything stupid, but I've got a feeling stupid is exactly what she's planning." He sighed. "Come on, let's go deliver this cryptic message to Dumbledore."

_First time I've seen my sister since I graduated and _this_ happens. Dammit my family sucks. Oh man I hope she doesn't go out and get herself killed or something. Lyra, what are you doing?_

* * *

Lyra choked on the water as the Inferi pulled her in. Down and down they went, lower and lower. She couldn't breathe and slowly her consciousness was fading. Then something strange happened. The creatures released her and a new pair of arms wrapped around her and suddenly she was advancing toward the surface. The world continued to dim to black.

The next thing she knew, she was laying on the rocks within the cave, coughing water from her lungs. A man was sitting on the rocks next to her, looking down at her with gentle concern. His hair was black and a little oily, his eyes deep obsidian, and his skin pale as alabaster, maybe even paler. He was dripping wet for some reason. She smiled weakly at him, her storm gray eyes batting lazily. "You again…"

"Me again," he agreed.

"Am I dead, love?"

"No, but you were awfully close. It was foolish of you to get so close to those monsters." He looked angry, but the woman hardly noticed. She was too tired to worry about his anger.

"I had to… I needed water…"

He scowled at her and brushed a dripping lock of hair out of her face. "Yes that poison seems to have that effect. It's still in your system, but it should be processed soon and you'll be fine."

"Thanks for saving me…" She shuddered, remembering the terrors the poison had shown her, all those awful things her hands had done. "I didn't deserve saving though…"

"Yes you did, darling." He brushed a finger across her cheek and she closed her eyes. "You'll always deserve saving."

"I don't wanna be here… I wanna go home…"

"Then I will take you there," he answered, picking her up bridal style. "Where is Vulpecula?"

"Safe," she mumbled into his shoulder. "With my brother, Sirius."

"She will have to stay with him until you have recovered," Hades announced.

Lyra yawned and nodded, puzzling silently over the fact that they'd already reached her home. She hadn't even noticed that they'd left the cave. Kreecher greeted them, ecstatic over the fact that his mistress was alive. He went to fetch a pitcher of water without being asked, just in case she was still thirsty. The witch smiled weakly at him and said, "Thanks."

* * *

When his sister had asked him to promise to do something that she couldn't tell him what was, Sirius had honestly never expected something so… simple. Of course he'd never expected anything like babysitting to be a something she'd need. Since when did she even have a kid?

Lily was lecturing him about the fact that he hadn't known about the baby – Vulpecula was her name (Sirius thought the name was absolutely ridiculous so he'd taken to calling her Vivi). Apparently even though she and her sister weren't exactly on speaking terms, she knew that her sister had a son that was Harry's age and that his name was Dudley. The wizard didn't need the lecture though, he was already well aware of how awful a brother he had to be that he didn't know he had a niece.

Still, he decided to make up for lost time by playing with the little girl. She was a beautiful baby. Pale skin and black hair with the gray eyes Sirius and Lyra shared. Her lashes were long and she was a rather giggly child. And smart! She was only a year old and she could already talk in sentences. Sure half of the words were hard (sometimes impossible) to understand, but they were still there. [Those of you that think this is impossible, I would like to inform you that my brother was speaking in sentences when he was only a year old – we have a doctor's note to prove it.] She and Harry got along pretty well too which was a plus because he was currently at James and Lily's so they could help seeing as he knew next to nothing about taking care of children.

"Did Dumbledore ever tell you what Lyra's message meant?" Lily asked suddenly.

Sirius frowned. "No. He just got this really serious look on his face and asked to see my memory for the exact wording. Then he said something about it be very bad and he left, muttering to himself."

"Hey, Sirius…" The uncle looked up at his best friend. He knew that voice, it was James's this-is-a-very-serious-matter-so-don't-joke-around voice. It was mainly reserved for Order meetings, but sometimes he used it in other situations... but why would he use it when he was reading Lyra's letter – the one she'd sent with Vulpecula? "Did you read this all the way through?"

"Uh, no. Why?"

"Because I think she's doing something really really stupid."

That was the impression Sirius had gotten when he spoke to her too, but Lyra was the smarter of the siblings. She got sorted into Slytherin for a reason. "What makes you say that?"

"She says 'if I don't make it back, please take good care of Vulpecula for me, Siri.'"

"What?" the man yelped, jumping to his feet. He startled the two infants who were playing in the playpen, but Lily soothed their fright rather easily. Padfoot hurried over to his friend and snatched the letter from his hands. He skimmed over the words and sure enough the very sentence James mentioned was right there, more than halfway down.

"There's one more thing, Padfoot."

"Please don't tell me it gets worse."

"No, but uh… well she's being defiant of the Dark Lord and it says Vivi's birthday is the first of August so it _could_ be considered 'as the seventh month dies'…"

"No no no." Sirius shook his head. "Lyra would already have had to defy the You-Know-Who three times before Vivi was born. Right?"

"Who says she hadn't? I mean, we know there's a spy on his end just like there's a spy on ours…"

Sirius looked sick. "She's good at Occlumens…" he muttered. "Has a natural talent for it… You don't think…"

"It would explain why Dumbledore understood her message when we didn't, how she knew what he was wondering about."

"But it would have to have been _exactly_ three times," Lily pointed out. "If she's the spy, she's defied him more times than that."

"But what if she'd only started spying just before she had Vivi?"

"You're assuming a lot here, guys. Lyra… well she's not really the gutsy type you know. She's soft, I don't think she'd be able to—"

"Sirius, she's probably doing something against You-Know-Who as we speak. Something that could get her killed."


	2. A Mother's Letter

**What Makes a Hero**

_A Mother's Letter_

While a centaur coming for a visit wasn't exactly _expected_ in the Tonks household, it wasn't unbelievable either. As a house full of those gifted in the magical arts, they were all familiar with centaurs, satyrs, and a number of other magical creatures that muggles were entirely unaware of. That's why, despite his satyr companion's confusion, Chiron arrived at the house in his natural form. When he knocked on the door, a young girl's voice – by young I mean early teens – call, "I've got it, Mum!"

Then the door was pulled open and the strangest human either had ever seen was standing there. She was in her early teens – thirteen, fourteen-ish – with short, bright pink hair and big, yellow eyes. Her nose was beak-like and her features looked reminiscent of a pixie. She had on a floor-length black robe – the kind priests wear, not the bathrobe kind. "Uh…" was the satyr's eloquent greeting.

"A centaur?" the girl asked. "And a satyr?" Her face bubbled and shimmered for a moment then it grew into a more normal visage, her eyes turning a lovely brown but her hair remaining bright pink. "I guess funny faces won't creep you guys out!" She grinned at them, eyes sparkling. "So what can I help you with? I'm guessing you're not travelling salesmen."

"Who is it, sweety?" a man's voice called.

"I didn't catch your names."

"I'm Chiron and this is Sirus."

"Ky-ron and Sigh-rus," she echoed, pronouncing the names a little more carefully than she needed to. When she got no objection, she turned her head to call into the house, "It's a centaur named Chiron and a satyr named Sirus, Dad!"

"A centaur and a…" Chiron could hear the man respond. "Um, Dromeda I think this is your department."

A woman's laugh met his comment. "I believe it is. Vivi dear, can you watch the cookies for me?"

"Uh huh!" a younger girl's voice answered brightly.

Footsteps approached and soon a middle-aged woman was standing behind the teen. She was tall and beautiful with thick, light brown hair and kind light blue eyes. She smiled warmly at her guests and placed her hands on her daughter's shoulders. "It's nice to meet you. My name is Andromeda Tonks and, seeing as she somehow manages to forget all the etiquette I've tried to teach her, I should tell you that this is my daughter Nymphadora."

"Don't call me that," the girl grumbled, scowling as her hair darkened in color.

"I had to go through five hours of labor with you, Nymphadora. I think I earned the right to call you whatever I please." The girl crossed her arms and continued to scowl. "Why don't you go on upstairs and do your summer work, Dora?"

"I already finished my summer work, Mum."

The woman smiled down at her daughter and patted her on the head. "That's the Hufflepuff work ethic at work. Go on to the kitchen then and help Vivi with the cookies."

The teen snorted and grinned. "You know if they're burning, she'll just sit there and watch them."

Andromeda's lips twitched in a way that showed she was both annoyed and amused at that fact. "Yes, I know. Which is why I'm sending you. Now go on." She released her daughter's shoulders and gave her a gentle push in the direction the guests assumed was the kitchen. "Now, how can I help you gentlemen?" Though her tone was kind, she kept eying the centaur like she thought he was going to become violent any second now.

"My apologies for arriving unannounced, Mrs. Tonks," Chiron greeted, bowing his head politely. "I'm here to talk to you about Vulpecula Black. It's rather important."

"What about her?"

"Ma'am, may I ask what you know about her parents?"

"Her mother was my cousin."

"And her father?"

The woman pursed her lips and eyed them uncertainly. "I don't know much about him, I'm afraid." Then she sighed. "Hold on just one second." Andromeda then closed the door on them and they heard her walk off. The centaur and satyr exchanged looks, wondering if they'd just been blown off. They stayed where they were though. Chiron was just about to knock again, just to let them know he wouldn't give up so easily, when he heard slow footsteps approaching the door. He let his arm drop and waited patiently for the door to be opened again. When it was, they were surprised to see the woman standing there, browsing through a letter. "Of course she would do it this way. Lyra could be such a pain sometimes." Then she held out the letter to Chiron and leaned against the doorjamb.

The centaur perused the letter, surprised to find it written in Ancient Greek. "You can read this?" he asked in surprise.

"Some of it. I remember a few of the symbols from Ancient Runes class. An odd thing to write a letter in." The woman pursed her lips, eyes serious and somewhat worried.

"It's written in Ancient Greek which I am quite fluent in. But where did you get this letter? And who is Sirius?"

"Sirius is Vivi's godfather. He kind of, um, murdered the guy that got her mother killed though so he couldn't take her." The woman chuckled to herself. "He'd have already read the letter years ago using a translation charm. I guess that's why it's addressed to him."

"It's two letters actually, they're just on the same page. There's an odd spell on it that's addressed to Sirius."

"A spell?" the woman took the paper back and examined it. "Ah, an altered version of an anti-eavesdropping spell. Brilliant work."

"So who gave this to you?" Chiron asked as the letter was handed back to him and he began to read.

"Dumbledore did when he delivered Vivi to me. He said Lyra had been preparing for the eventuality of her death for a while and that letter was meant to be given to the one who comes asking about Vivi's father." Chiron hummed quietly and frowned before looking down at the letter.

_To Whom It May Concern,_

_I have little doubt in the assessment that this letter is going straight to Chiron. If I am somehow wrong then please forgive the assumption of the address._

_Chiron,_

_If you are reading this then I have died and left my daughter in my brother's care. While I know he isn't the most qualified, I know she received all the love she could ever need there. Sirius is probably acting rather rude and probably overly doubtful, but that is because he truly doesn't know. No one knows about Vulpecula's father except myself and him. My brother is very stubborn but protective and loyal and I would very much like for my daughter to remain in his care – at least during the year provided this is coming before she turns eleven. My brother is accomplished at Defense magic and I trust that any monsters that come for her will be handled quickly and easily._

_In the event that she has remained unnoticed and safe until she turned eleven or even after – I fear this won't be the case, but a mother can hope – then know that she _will_ attend Hogwarts and get her education. She will be as safe there as she would be at that camp of yours, perhaps even safer. If you don't believe me, ask Sirius for directions. You can talk to the headmaster, Dumbledore, or the herd of centaurs in the Forbidden Forest if you would like. Even with the schooling, I would very much appreciate her returning to Sirius every year. Vulpecula's father tells me that your camp begins in June and runs through the end of July so I'm sure it won't be a problem._

_Though I don't know you and feel a good amount of reluctance in leaving my daughter in your care, I believe it is the safest and most efficient way for her to learn about the world her father comes from. She has a difficult life ahead of her, one I hope you can guide her safely through. I am trusting you so don't let me down. Know that if you bring harm to my daughter, I will find a way to return from the dead to haunt you for the rest of your prolonged life._

_Now I hope my Greek has come along well enough that what I've written is understandable. I've been studying it in my free time – which I have far too much of these days._

_Sincerely,_

_Lyra Walburga Black_

_PS, I'm serious about my threat. I am a witch, I _will_ figure something out if I have to._

"It seems your cousin has a rather protective nature, and she had no idea that Vulpecula would come to you."

"She probably suspected the possibility," Andromeda told him. "I'm sure she's just glad Vivi wasn't sent to Cissy – her husband is a pureblood fanatic and 'alleged' supported of You-Know-Who."

"Ah yes, the one they call the Dark Lord." Chiron nodded his head. "I've heard of him, and I've come to understand that Vulpecula is the subject of a prophecy involving him."

"I haven't actually heard it, but yes, she is. Or was seeing as You-Know-Who is gone now."

"Mrs. Black says I can discuss the specifics of Hogwarts School with the headmaster. Could you provide directions?"

"Hogwarts itself is unplottable, but I can give you a map to Hogsmede and they can direct you from there. And I'll owl Dumbledore and let him know you're coming."

Chiron nodded. "Very well. I only came here to discuss things with you, but it seems Mrs. Black has already thought this through rather thoroughly." He placed a hand on the letter and something on it glowed for a second before vanishing. "The protective spell should be gone now; I believe you can use a translation spell and read it now." He handed the letter back to the woman. "The only thing left to discuss is Sirus here." He motioned to the satyr. "He is a Keeper, a satyr that's meant to protect and guide people like Vulpecula to camp."

"Witches you mean?"

"No, I mean demigods."

"Come again?"


	3. Meet Vulpecula

**What Makes a Hero**

_Meet Vulpecula_

"Come again?" Andromeda asked, frowning up at the centaur. This was always the hardest part: convincing them. It was even more difficult when the child's guardian had no clue. It would have been easier to just talk to Vulpecula herself, but the girl was so young… He worried over the reason the monsters would already be coming after her; perhaps it was had to do with the magical ability of her mother? He hoped it was that and not because she was _the one_.

That's when he heard the energetic footsteps of a child approaching. Then the girl they had come to meet came into view. She was a beautiful child with haughty features and pale skin. Her hair was midnight black and falling freely to her shoulders, her eyes a dark, stormy gray. She had a regal way of standing and walking, looking strong and confident, as if she owned the whole world. The robes she wore were black. She bounded up to the woman and stopped, tilting her head all the way back to look at Chiron's face even though it made her look silly. She smiled widely up at him, eyes sparkling with mischief and insight. The man's thoughts whirled through his various campers, wondering who her father could possibly be. If her mortal parent had been a man, he'd have sworn she were one of Aphrodite's, or maybe Hecate's, but that wasn't so. Maybe a Hermes child?

"You're Chiron!" she announced with a firm sort of conviction, excitement in her voice. "From Camp Half-Blood!"

The centaur blinked and frowned, looking seriously down at the girl. "I am," he agreed, nodding, "but how did you know that, Vulpecula?"

The girl wrinkled her nose up as if she smelled something absolutely awful. "Please don't call me that, I prefer Vivi." Then her face brightened once more and she smiled. "I know who you are because of my dreams!"

"_Vivi_," Andromeda began in a scolding tone but Chiron only offered her a gentle smile and held up a hand to ask her to stop.

"Please, Mrs. Tonks, I deal with such things very often. Tell me, Vivi, what are your dreams about?"

"I have lots of dreams!" she exclaimed with a broad grin, her eyes sparkling eagerly. He got the feeling she didn't really get to talk about them very often. "Aunt Andy says it's just my ADHD getting away from me, but I don't think so!"

"Can you tell me about the dreams that involve me?"

She nodded eagerly. "There's this really cool camp!" She threw her hands out as if to use them to illustrate. "I think it's in America because the people all talk funny! And they learn Greek too! And there's sword fighting and canoeing and this rock-wall that spits out lava!"

"I'm sorry, her imagination just gets away from her sometimes." Andromeda offered an apologetic smile and the little girl pouted.

"No, not at all. I assure you that camp is very much real, Vivi."

"Really?" the girl looked like her birthday wish had come true. She started jumping up and down, her face lit with excitement. "I knew it!"

"What else have you seen about the camp, Vivi?"

"Well I saw you and this funny guy with a bright red nose like Rudolph's!" She scrunched up her face in an attempt to mock the face and tugged at her nose in an effort to make it red. Then she pouted. "I wish I was like Dora!" she whined. "Then I could show you!"

"That's quite all right, child. I've met the man, he's the director of the camp." The girl's eyes sparkled and she clapped her hands together as if that fact made everything better. "What else have you seen? What were we talking about in your dream?"

She frowned at him now and put her hands on her hips in a scolding motion, and Chiron wondered what was wrong with his question. "You weren't talking to _him_, you were talking to a little girl. He was babbling about some game…" she drifted off then looked up at him and blinked. "What's Pinochle?"

"A card game. I'll show you sometime."

The girl smiled. "Anyway, the girl was blonde and she had gray eyes and she was asking to go somewhere – I had another dream about her once, she was with a satyr and a boy and a girl…" she trailed off, her face growing very serious and sad. "The other girl turned into a tree…"

Chiron looked extremely contemplative now. Why was this girl having visions about Annabeth? He figured the conversation she'd eavesdropped on had been one of the numerous ones he'd had with the girl when she was asking for a quest. He recalled one instance when Mr. D. had paused in his examination of the cards and looked up to stare sternly at the sky then he'd flicked his wrist and muttered something about pesky eavesdroppers. Yep, that was probably it.

"Have you seen anyone else in your dreams, Vivi?"

The girl nodded. "The boy that was with the blonde, the satyr, and the tree-girl. Oh! And there's this one boy with black hair and green eyes! I see him sometimes too, but he never really does anything. There was this one time a Cyclops was looking at him all stern and threatening but then a teacher came out and he ran away." The girl got a faraway look in her face and she frowned, like she was trying to figure out a puzzle when she was missing a few too many pieces.

"Hm…" Chiron examined the girl in a new light. Maybe she was one of Apollo's? But then she wasn't really seeing the future so maybe not.

"Do you know what my dreams mean, Chiron?" she asked, frowning up at him. She looked lost and frightened.

The centaur offered a gentle smile. "Sometimes people like you, demigods, get visions like that. They see things and people that they're connected to by the threads of fate." He expected her to ask what he meant when calling her a demigod, but she didn't. Instead she nodded as if this explanation was perfectly acceptable and should be filed away for later use. "Vivi, do you know what your father is?" he asked.

The girl nodded her head. "Daddy's a god," she announced as if it were the most normal thing in the world. "That's why Greek makes sense to me but English words swirl around in my head like they have a mind of their own." Her nose snarled up again at the thought.

Andromeda looked baffled and disbelieving, as was expected. "Vivi, don't go saying things like—"

"That's exactly right, Vivi," Chiron interrupted, nodding his head. "Do you know who he is? Which god?"

The girl looked conflicted for a minute then she shook her head and firmly told him, "No." The centaur wasn't entirely sure she was being truthful, but the firmness of her voice was enough for him to know he wouldn't be getting any other answer any time soon. Why wouldn't she want him to know? "Chiron? Did you come to take me to camp?" She tilted her head to the side and her hair fell across her the small amount of her forehead that it hadn't already covered, getting a little in her eyes though she didn't seem to mind.

"I did."

The girl grinned broadly. "I knew you would! My dreams told me so!"

"Whoa whoa, you're not going anywhere with them, young lady," Andromeda interrupted. She was looking at the centaur like he was crazy, her hand landing firmly on the girl's shoulder. "You don't know anything about them."

"Yes I do!"

"Your dreams are just your imagination, Vivi. They're only using them to gain your confidence so you'll leave with them. They're dangerous." She was shooting the pair of them mistrustful looks.

"Of course they're dangerous!" the girl answered as if such a thing ought to be obvious. "How else would they protect me from monsters?"

"Vulpecula—"

"Don't call me that!" she exclaimed, turning to scowl at her mother's cousin. Her bright and cheerful temperament did a one-eighty and suddenly she seemed like a volatile, troubled child. Fire seemed to dance in her eyes and the scowl on her face was one of a seasoned veteran or a hardened criminal – it had no business being on the face of a child. Her hands balled into fists. "You can't say they're lying! You can't say they're wrong! You know they're not!"

"Yes they—"

"What about the fire?" she demanded. "And the way the ground seems to shake when I get really angry? What about all those monsters that come and come and come? How they seem to follow us – follow me – wherever we go? What about how I can read and speak Greek even though I've never really been taught? Or that I can talk to snakes even though the Blacks aren't Parselmouths!"

Andromeda seemed to be reeling from the gaze and the sharp exclamations but quickly recovered and sent her own glare back at the girl, putting her hands on her hips and scowling down at her. "Accidental magic can explain all of those incidents! And the monsters are just angry over You-Know-Who's fall! And the Greek is just an odd talent – and so is being a Parselmouth!"

"Parseltongue is _genetic_, Aunt Andy! You _know_ that! And accidental magic doesn't shake the ground! Monsters don't act like that normally! They're not that loyal! Not to _him_ especially!"

"Whoa whoa whoa, what's going on out here?" a middle aged man with graying brown hair and confused brown eyes asked as he approached the group. Dora was half a step behind him, looking intrigued and a little worried.

"Stay out of it!" the pair snapped.

"Enough of this!" Chiron exclaimed, stomping one of his hooves on the porch. "Mrs. Tonks, you're acting like a child. Vivi is as well but she _is_ a child so it should be expected." He gave the woman and child both a stern look. "I understand your protective nature – I even commend it – but I assure you that I mean no harm to her. You cousin expected my arrival, if you translate and read that letter you can see for yourself."

Andromeda still looked angry but she huffed and drew her wand, tapping the page with it. Then she scowled down at the words and read through the letter, lips pursed. "What in the world did you do, Lyra?" she asked when she finished, sighing and running a hand through her hair. Then she looked up at the centaur seriously. "Well how do I know _you're_ the Chiron this letter is addressed to?"

"If the evidence that has already been presented isn't enough, then I suppose you can't know, Mrs. Tonks."

The woman pursed her lips and examined him silently for a long moment. Then she sighed. "Fine, I'll trust you." Then she lifted her wand and aimed it at the creature's face. "But if I find out you mean her harm, I will hunt you down, and… well you don't want to know what I would do to you. Blacks are very accomplished at hexes. I know as many as my elder sister and _that_ is saying something."

"I'm gonna go get my stuff!" Vivi announced brightly, spinning and running off into the house. Sirus paled but still didn't speak, staring numbly after her.

"She has her grandmother's temper," Andromeda told them, shaking her head.

"And you don't?" Dora asked, quirking a pink eyebrow. The teen's mother scowled at her and huffed indignantly.


	4. The Girl Who Lived

**What Makes a Hero**

_The Girl Who Lived_

"Chiron," Sirus hissed when Andromeda stepped back inside to help Vivi gather her things. They were sitting on the porch, talking about camp – they avoided exact details when necessary, but tried to stick to the truth. The satyr had been overly quiet, his face still pale. The centaur had been worried he was getting ill, but he decided to wait until they had a moment alone.

"What is it? Are you feeling all right?"

"I… I don't know. Chiron, I saw – on her forehead… it's-it's—"

_Ah so _that's_ why._ "A double pronged spear?"

"How did you…? Did you see it too?"

"I didn't have to," he answered with a small smile. "Vulpecula is very famous amongst the Wizarding community for that scar. She received it when she was only a year old."

"That young?" the satyr murmured, eyes wide. "That's… really rare. Why would he claim her so young? And is it really wises for her to come to camp?"

Chiron chuckled. "There's no need to be so frightened, Sirus. An investigation was held after the girl received the mark and it was decided that the mark was not one of claim."

"Then what is it?"

"Perhaps I should tell you how she received her scar?" The centaur sighed. "I probably should have told you before we left. First I should tell you that the Oracle of Delphi is not the only one Apollo has gifted with foresight. There are a number of mortal prophets, some of them finding their home amongst Hecate's Chosen – the witches and wizards. In the summer of 1994, one such mortal delivered a prophecy. At the time, the country was caught in a civil war between two factions amongst the Chosen – the followers of Tom Riddle, more commonly known as Lord Voldemort, a son of Zeus."

"What? But the Great Prophecy – the oath—"

"He was already past the age of sixteen when the Great Prophecy was delivered. And he remained unclaimed, Zeus didn't much like the boy as he was rather… psychotic. Evil. So much so that even today witches and wizards fear his name though he died years ago."

"Wow, I didn't know that."

Chiron nodded his head seriously. "Anyway, the prophecy that was delivered spoke of a child that would have the power to defeat Voldemort. This child was to be born at the end of July to a very particular type of couple – I don't know the specifics, but I know that Vulpecula's parents fit the description. Because of that, they were placed under heavy security along with a few other children who fit the description as well – I don't know how many. The man had an agent in the security and he used this person to break into their house on Halloween night in 1995, when she was a year old. The son of Zeus killed her mother and then tried to kill her, but the curse he cast at her backfired and killed him. That scar is the place where the curse hit – a mark of the killing curse she somehow deflected. To this day, no one else has ever done the same. No one even knows how she did it. That's why she's famous; they call her the Girl Who Lived."

"Oh, I think I get it," Sirus murmured, nodding slowly. "So that scar, it's the only thing left of something that was meant to cause death and that's why it's _his_ symbol. She defied Hades by surviving and that mark is the proof. Like a Mark of Cain."

"I suppose you could say that. Though I doubt the scar will allow her immortality and cause anyone who attacks her to suffer a fate ten times worse," Chiron noted with a laugh.

The satyr blushed. "That's what it means? I thought it was just some kind of identifying mark… something about killing his brother?"

The taller creature gave him a smile. "Now that I've told you her story, I believe it's time I go on my way to Hogwarts to speak with its headmaster." He flashed the map to Hogsmede Andromeda had given him. "I trust you can take her the rest of the way to camp."

"You can count on me," the boy answered with a nod and a smile.

"Good luck, Sirus, I fear your trip may not be easy. And I would avoid air travel – she is still responsible for the downfall of one of Zeus's children, disliked or not."

"Right." Chiron cantered away, leaving Sirus to wonder how in Hades they were going to get her to America. He guessed by boat was the only way, but how was he going to get tickets?

The door came open and there was Andromeda again, Vivi right behind her. She looked around with a frown. "Where's Chiron?"

"He went on to see Hogwarts," Sirus answered, standing up. "It's all right though, I'm the one that's supposed to escort her to camp anyway. He just came because of the special circumstances."

"Oh okay." The woman pursed her lips and looked the satyr up and down, appraising him. "I don't know much about satyrs – there aren't that many in Britain – so I suppose I will just have to trust that you're as capable as you say. How do you intend to get to America?"

"I was thinking by boat."

"So you have no real plan," Andromeda surmised.

The satyr fidgeted and brayed nervously. "Well most demigods are in the US and Chiron doesn't think air travel is a good idea so…"

"It's all right, I understand. I have a better idea than travel by boat, though."

"You do?"

"Portkey."

The girl groaned. "Not by Portkey! I _hate_ Portkeys!"

"Suck it up, kiddo," Dora cut in, giving her cousin a playful shove.

Vivi still pouted and crossed her arms over her chest. "It's the fastest and easiest way to travel overseas. You know how dangerous it would be to Floo that far – especially for someone who hasn't Flooed before."

"I know," the girl grumbled, still pouting.

"Come on in and I'll make a Portkey," Andromeda coaxed, placing a gentle hand on the satyr's shoulder and guiding him into the house.

He was surprised when a cage was pushed into his arms, but he took hold of it anyway. "That's Poplar," Vivi informed him seriously. "He's my owl. Try not to drop him, okay? I'll take my trunk." She grabbed hold of a decent-sized black – no, it was dark green, not black – trunk with silver straps and latches and dragged it across the floor after Andromeda.

The witch pulled out her wand and scanned the living room – a cozy room with pale green walls, dark hardwood floors, and green-and-yellow furniture – before smiling and grabbing hold of a broken metal… thing. "This will work nicely," she announced. Then she turned to Sirus. "Where in America is this camp of yours?"

"Long Island, New York."

"And you can navigate there from anywhere in Long Island?"

"Yeah."

"Good." The witch placed her wand against the metal thing and murmured, "_Portus_." It glowed for a moment before returning to its normal look. She handed it to Vivi who held it out to the uncertain Sirus who put a tentative hand on it. "It leaves in five seconds."

"Uh, what—" The satyr didn't get to finish his question because he felt a tugging sensation around his navel and suddenly he was spinning. The part of his hand that was touching the metal thing burned and felt like it was glued to it. They were spinning and spinning. He could hear the caged owl squawking indignantly and rustling around. He could also hear clanging and quiet grunts not too far away. He looked over to see Vivi's trunk kept banging against her leg and he frowned. Why did she take the trunk and leave him the owl? He was the protector, he should be the one that had to take the damage however miniscule it may be.

After what felt like hours but could have been minutes – he honestly didn't know which it was – the spinning slowed and they crashed to the ground. The satyr bounced when he hit the ground, his hand coming unglued and the bird cage rolling out of his grasp, owl trilling and screeching angrily. That was the first time Sirus actually got a good look at the animal. It was teeny – small enough he bet it'd fit in milk jug and still have room to move – and its feathers were brown and gray and white. Such a pretty little owl, and it was furious with him.

The satyr pursed his lips and looked over at his charge who was laying on the ground, unmoving. He panicked for a moment, thinking she was dead, but then she groaned and rolled over onto her back, leaving her trunk laying on its side. "I hate Portkeys," she grumbled to the sky, arms splayed wide. Then she jerked upright. "Poplar!" The demigod scrambled to her feet and ran over to the caged animal, quickly righting it. "Are you okay, boy?"

"_Do I look okay to you?"_ the owl demanded in owl language. Sirus winced, knowing he'd cause the creature's discomfort – or some of it at least.

"Sorry, stupid question." She unlatched the cage and the bird flew out, dive bombing the satyr not even a second later.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Sorry! I'm sorry!" The creature threw a number of nasty insults at him and continued to peck him for a few moments more before flying over to his master and pecking her hand.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"_For giving me to him!"_ the owl trilled. Sirus translated.

"You speak owl?" she asked as the creature flew off to who knows where.

"I understand the languages of all animals," he answered proudly. "Uh, is he supposed to fly away like that?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, he's fine. Poplar's really smart, he'll find his way back to me sooner or later." She stood up and dusted herself off. Then she strode over to her trunk and grabbed one end. "Help me with this, will you? It's awfully heavy." Sirus obediently stood and hurried over to pick up the other end, snatching the Portkey up as he passed it. "You can throw that away whenever you like – it's just a piece of junk now."

The satyr paused. "Is it safe to eat?"

The girl looked at him funny before seeming to realize that he was a satyr. "It's just a hunk of silver. Not goblin silver – that'd be awful for you to try to eat."

"Why?" he asked curiously, taking a bite of the metal. "What's goblin silver anyway?"

"Goblin silver is silver enchanted by goblins of course! It's completely indestructible. It's also smudge-proof and the dirt just bounces right off of it – like oil on water. So which way do we go?"

"Oh uh… there. There's a town over there. I can ask someone where exactly we are."

"Um, Sirus? Is it really wise to go into town like… well…" She motioned to his goat legs and hooves. The creature blushed. He'd forgotten Chiron had told him that a disguise would be unnecessary for this mission and so he hadn't worn pants or shoes. They'd come over on an older demigod's cruise ship, but they wouldn't have been able to come back on it… Did Chiron know about Portkeys when they went over? How much did he know about these mortals he called 'Hecate's Chosen'?

"Oh, right. You can go ahead into town and ask where exactly we are. Get a map and ask whoever's behind the counter if he would point out where we are on it."

"I can do that!" The girl smiled brightly and dropped her trunk then paused. "Oh, but I don't have any American muggle money… It's not the same as the British kind, right?"


	5. Monster Burgers

**What Makes a Hero**

_Monster Burgers_

"Oh, right. You can go ahead into town and ask where exactly we are. Get a map and ask whoever's behind the counter if he would point out where we are on it."

"I can do that!" Vivi smiled brightly and dropped her trunk then paused. "Oh, but I don't have any American muggle money… It's not the same as the British kind, right?"

"No, it's not." Sirus decided not to ask what a 'muggle' was. He reached into the pocket on his shirt and pulled out a small wad of bills. "This should be more than enough for a map."

"How does it work?" she asked, examining the bills with avid curiosity on her face.

"Well the bills with ones on them are one dollar bills, the ones with fives one them are five dollar bills, and so on. Cents are smaller than dollars."

"How much smaller?"

"One hundred cents to a dollar," he explained as patiently as he could manage.

"Okay!" she answered brightly before stuffing the cash into her jeans pocket. Then she took off running toward the town. Sirus sighed and sat down on top of the trunk, watching her go.

She had been gone for long enough that the satyr was wondering what was taking so long before he smelled it: monsters. His eyes widened in horror and his stomach twisted as he jumped to his feet and took off running toward town, cursing himself the whole way. They'd been upwind from the town so he hadn't been able to smell them until the wind shifted, but when it did the scent had been overpowering. Now his charge was in danger because he'd been too stupid to pack pants and sneakers.

~ Vivi ~

Vulpecula strode confidently down the sidewalk, looking around for a place that seemed likely to sell maps. Her face kept scrunching up at all the signs with their weird fonts and colors which didn't work with her – what's it called again? Dyslexia, that's it. Anyway, she couldn't half read any of the signs. Then she found one with a sign written in big, bold white-on-black letters: Monster Burgers.

Now normally she would have avoided that place on principle. Monster? Really? No thanks. But she was kinda hungry and maybe they could point her in the direction of a place that could sell her a map. So she went in. It wasn't until after she heard the lock click ominously behind her that she realized the sign had been so easy to read because it was written in Greek.

She stood in front of the wooden door, eyes wide and frightened as she looked around the place. It looked like an ordinary diner – minus the wall(s) of windows most had. Black and white tile flooring, tables along the walls with booth seats, a long counter with barstools lined up in front of it, and even a little window that let you peek into the kitchen to see the chef.

She really didn't want to see the chef though. Why? Because the chef was six feet tall with a crow's nest for hair and big, beefy arms that looked more than capable of wielding an ax well enough to kill her. Or maybe just strangling her outright. None of that would have been too big of a problem, not for her, but then there was the other, far more frightening thing: he only had one eye. Which was trained directly on her. Behind the counter was a lady with a snake-like face and tentacle-like arms who was eying her like she was the special of the day.

She swallowed nervously and backed into the door, hoping it would swing out. "I think I'll just be going now…" When the door didn't budge, she remembered the click of the lock and swallowed nervously again. The diner's patrons – an assortment of different monsters, each more frightening than the last – had all turned around when she spoke and were now eying her like they hadn't had a decent meal in days. Odd seeing as how most of them had just been eating a few seconds ago…

"Oh deary, why would you wanna leave so soon?" the snake lady asked, moving around the counter and smiling a smile full of thinly veiled threats. "Why not sit down and have a bite?"

"Um… because I get the feeling I'm going to be on the menu?" her voice was squeaky.

The snake lady made a funny sound somewhere between a laugh and a hiss. "Oh no, deary. We'll have to fatten you up a bit before we serve you." _Well at least they're straightforward._ "So sit down, enjoy a nice meal or two before you become one."

"Um… and if I don't want to become one?"

"I didn't say you had a choice, deary."

Vivi bit her lip and looked the snake lady in the eye. Then she took a deep breath and spoke in Parseltongue, _"Please don't eat me, I rather like living you see."_

The snake lady – and a couple others who had snake-like features – jerked back in surprise, eying her like she'd just become something far more valuable. Unfortunately, she doubted that meant she'd get to keep her life. _"A Parselmouth!"_ the snake woman hissed back gleefully. _"I haven't had Parselmouth in centuries! I thought that brat of Zeus's was the last one!" _The demigod swallowed again, fidgeting in her place and praying for a little accidental magic to unlock the door. _"Hm, you do smell like a demigod though… not a spawn of Zeus I'm sure. Not that it would matter – he won't interfere."_

"_Miss Snake Lady, I'm sure you don't want to eat me. I bet I'll taste awful."_

"_They all say that, deary. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be scrumptious." _She was really close now, so close the girl squinted her eyes shut and could feel the monster's breath on her face when she said 'scrumptious'. The creature reached up to touch the girl's face.

And that was her fatal mistake. Vivi didn't understand what happened – it had happened before but that didn't mean she really understood it – but the snake lady let out a pain filled shriek and pulled back. Too late though, her arm had turned to ash and, a second later she exploded into gold dust.

The entire place went still, all the monsters staring at the little girl in shock. What had she done? How had she killed the monster? The girl wished she knew. For some reason, whenever came at her with the intent to kill, they just… poof. Most of the time it was monsters so she was sure the poof-ing had something to do with that, but once this creepy dark wizard had attacked her and his hand had turned to ash too! Then Aunt Andy came along and hexed him, finishing the job. She'd reported the occurrence to Aurors and there had been a formal hearing, but it was half-hearted. The killing was deemed 'defense of a minor' and she'd been let off.

Anyway, the restaurant was now in an uproar. Most of the monsters charged her at the same time, shouting something like 'she can't take us all at once'. Ten minutes later found the girl standing in the middle of a spray of gold dust. She was swaying in place, but she was still conscious enough to see the cook turn tail and run out the door before she fell to the ground. She decided her defense mechanism-thing must be broken if it was hurting her too, but she'd felt that pull in her gut – in her magical center – like it was her that was doing these things. But it couldn't be her! There was no way she could do something like that – murder people – subconsciously was there? Of course the monsters deserved it and she wouldn't be losing any sleep over this any time soon, but what if…

What if she accidentally killed someone innocent? What if she got in a fight at camp – training – and turned someone to ash? What if her powers started growing and she did that to anyone that touched her? What then? What kind of monster was she that her touch was deadly? That with just a touch she could turn people/monsters to ash? It was frightening. Absolutely frightening.

Those were her last thoughts before she fell into the black abyss of unconsciousness.

~ Sirus ~

Sirus ran through the streets of the town a little too fast for any of the mortals to really realize that he was a goat from the waist down. The mist probably blurred things just enough for them to think he was wearing brown pants and funny shoes. They probably thought he was practicing for some kind of track race.

He followed his nose down the road and his stomach dropped when he saw the sign: Monster Burgers. Great, there was a monster nest in the town he'd sent his charge alone into! Now where was—

_Oh no. No no no. Please tell me her scent isn't coming from that place!_

Her scent was coming from the monster place. _Damn it, Vivi!_ He shouted in his head as he ran to the building and threw the door open. He expected to find a frightened demigod surrounded by monsters, trying to fight her way out. He expected to see an already dead demigod being carried to the kitchen or smell human meat cooking. He expected to find monsters everywhere and a little girl that was hopelessly outmatched. He hoped to see a demigod holding her own against the monster working the cash register and/or the cook.

He never in his wildest dreams would have expected – or dared to hope – to find the demigod – _a seven year old little girl _– surrounded by the golden dust of deceased monsters, even if she was unconscious! He just stood in the doorway, gaping at the scene. Then he looked over the dust with a horrified sort of fascination, realizing that there had been at least five monsters, but probably no more than ten. _What is she? _He wondered. _Who is her father? How could she have done this by herself? She must belong to one of the Big Three, but which one? Who broke the pact? Zeus again? Or was it really Hades? Or maybe Poseidon has a thing for Brits…_

He slowly made his way toward the girl, the clopping of his hooves against the tile sounding unnaturally loud in the quiet of the building. "Vivi?" he murmured, kneeling down to place a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?" She made an unintelligent grumbling noise, but didn't rouse in any other way. The satyr sighed and decided to thank the gods that she was at least alive – he certainly wouldn't have been in her situation – before walking over and sticking his head out the door to examine the streets outside. Yeah, he knew where they were. This was Shelter Island, a little island in the 'alligator's mouth' (as he liked to call it) of Long Island. Greenport was just north of them and camp was just east of there. [I don't know the exact location of Camp Half-Blood so I'm doing my best guestimating based on the location of Montauk on Google maps. If you have a better idea of its location, let me know and I'll see about changing this bit.]

If Sirus had to guess, they had only about an hour of travel time if they managed to procure themselves a car. First things first though, he needed pants and shoes. If he was going to find and steal a car, then he needed to not draw attention to himself.

That's when an idea struck him and he looked around the place, his eyes landing on the back entrance. Hoping he'd get lucky, he ran across the building, careful to go around his charge, and out into the employee parking lot. Sure enough, it was shut off from the rest of the town and there in the back was a beaten up Volkswagen. Grinning to himself, he ran over to it and pulled the door open, elated to find that the keys were in the console between the seats. After all, who would dare steal from a monster?

Well Sirus would, obviously. Provided the monster was already dead and not likely to find out and eat him. The satyr let out an excited laugh at his luck before running back into the diner and picking his friend up. She made a few garbled noises, but didn't wake. The girl was so small and light that it surprised the creature, but he wasn't about to argue with this bout of good fortune. Good things rarely happened on Keeper missions – he hoped this didn't mean they were in for a run of bad luck to make up for it.

Once he got Vivi settled in the back seat, he got behind the wheel and started the car. He pulled out of the parking lot and headed straight for the place he'd left Vivi's trunk and Poplar's cage. Surprisingly they were both left untouched though he did have a bit of trouble loading them into the trunk on his own – the cage wasn't too difficult, but her trunk was weirdly heavy. Seriously, what did she have in it? Bricks?

Deciding to satisfy his curiosity seeing as they had a few minutes, he undid the latch and took a peek inside. The trunk was surprisingly well organized considering it was packed last minute. There was a stack of books on either end – probably the source of the extra weight – and neat stacks of clothes in the middle. Socks and underwear close to him, robes on the far side, and t-shirts and shorts/pants side-by-side in the middle. He wondered over the clanging but figured it would be over stepping to dig around in her trunk so he closed and latched it back before pushing the trunk door closed and hurrying over to the driver's seat. He climbed in, pulled the door closed, and started the car. Soon enough, they were riding off down the road toward Greenport which he would drive through before taking the 25 north east to camp.


	6. Mark of Cain

**What Makes a Hero**

_Mark of Cain_

Vulpecula groaned quietly to herself as she began to rouse. Her head felt like an elephant had decided to tap-dance on it, her arms and legs felt like jelly, and her stomach was twisted in a knot so tight it was painful. But there was this taste in her mouth, this amazing taste – like fresh-baked apple turnovers covered in caramel and vanilla ice cream. As she blinked her eyes open, her tongue shot out across her lips, taking in anything still left there.

She blinked at the girl seated on the side of her bed. She'd seen her before in her dreams. The girl was around Vivi's age, maybe a year older, with blonde hair and grey eyes – not like her own, but a lighter shade that seemed full of knowledge and wisdom. The blonde was looking calculatingly at her, as if she were the final piece to a puzzle she'd been trying to solve for days. She had a spoon in her hand with this odd yellow pudding-like stuff on it. "What happened?" she murmured, glancing behind her like someone was going to come in any second now. "Why are they acting so weird?"

"Huh?" she asked ineloquently.

The blonde scowled at her. "On your way, what happened? Why—" she cut herself off and shoved the spoon in the brunette's mouth. Her eyes widened as she tasted the pudding – how did they get it to taste like apple turnovers? _Magic pudding_, she decided. _Probably tastes like whatever I like most, or maybe what I want to be eating. But why make it pudding?_

The thing stranger than the taste was the feeling that surged through her veins when she ate the stuff. It was like pure power streaming through her body. The pain in her head eased, her arms and legs no longer felt like jelly, and the knot in her stomach loosened just a touch. She blinked in surprise. "Whoa, magic medicine that actually tastes good." She yawned again, but pushed herself up with her arms. It was harder than she would have thought, but she managed anyway.

She looked over the girl's shoulder to see what she'd been anxiously waiting to find Chiron in the door. Only it wasn't Chiron. There was no white stallion from his waist down. Instead, he was seated in a wheelchair with human legs and a blanket in his lap. "I see the ambrosia has helped you quite a bit. Though you could probably use some more."

As if that were an order, the blonde girl – whom her dreams identified as Annabeth – shoved the spoon in her mouth again. Had the 'ambrosia' been any less delicious, she'd have made a face in response. She didn't like other people feeding her, she was perfectly capable of doing it herself! She narrowed her eyes ever so slightly in the blonde's direction as if to say 'do that again and I'll punch you' before looking back to the not-centaur. "Chiron, why aren't you a centaur anymore? And where are we? How did I get here?"

"Annabeth, I think Vulpecula—"

"Don't call me that!"

"—can handle it from here."

"But Chiron—"

"Annabeth." The girl huffed and handed the spoon and ambrosia to the recovering brunette before getting down and looking calculatingly from Vivi to Chiron before leaving the room. "You shouldn't eat too much of that, Vivi. Ambrosia is the food of the gods, it's very dangerous to mortals. Demigods can eat it, but too much can still make you burn from the inside out."

The witch frowned and eyed the ambrosia as if it were a grenade waiting to go off, but she took another tentative bite. She felt loads better now so she figured she shouldn't have any more. The girl sat the ambrosia aside and crossed her hands in her lap, straightening up to her full sitting-height, and looking seriously at the centaur. "Are you going to answer my questions?"

Chiron offered a gentle smile. "This chair is magical," he told her, patting the wheelchair's arm. "It allows me to take the form of an ordinary mortal so that I don't cause a scene in public." The girl nodded, understanding that explanation more than most would. Of course, most people would think he was crazy if he told them without giving them visual proof. "As for where you are, you are in the Big House at Camp Half-Blood. Sirus brought you here after you passed out in the monster's nest."

"Monster Burgers," she agreed, nodding and pursing her lips as she suppressed a shudder.

"Sirus says he arrived to find you passed out in the middle of enough gold dust to have made anywhere between five and ten monsters. What happened? How did you beat them?"

"I don't know," she murmured, looking down at her hands. "It just happens."

"What just happens?"

"Whenever a monster tries to hurt me or even when a person tries to kill me… well they just turn to ash when they touch me."

"Ash?" The girl nodded, peeking at him from under her eyelashes.

"Do you know why, Chiron? Could it be because of my dad?"

"I suppose it _could_ be, but I haven't heard of such a thing happening before. Perhaps it has something to do with this." He reached up to brush her hair off her forehead, motioning to her scar.

"My scar? What do you mean?"

"Have you ever heard of a Mark of Cain?" She shook her head. "According to legend, there were once two brothers. The entire story would take too long to tell, but the ending is rather sad: the younger brother killed the older." The girl frowned, looking at Chiron with a serious expression. "This displeased God – this is a biblical story, so it's God with a capital G, not lowercase like the Greek gods – so he decided to deliver a punishment onto Cain, the younger brother. This punishment came in the form of a mark which caused him to be restless and unable to remain in one place. It was also a warning to all: should anyone end his eternal punishment, whatever force they dealt upon him shall be returned to them only ten times worse."

"But I can stay in one place and I didn't do anything wrong. Plus the monsters didn't actually hurt me."

"All legends come from somewhere. This one is older than I so unfortunately, I cannot tell you the true story. However, it is possible that the true Mark of Cain is more like yours: a mark of protection against evil and death."

"I don't think that's right," she told him with a frown.

"Well it could also be tied to the reason Voldemort was unable to kill you when you were a baby. Perhaps, for some reason, you were banned from entry into the Underworld so anyone who tries to put you there is brought down."

"Can that happen?"

"I haven't heard of such a thing happening. Of course, I could be wrong and it could be tied to your father. It's possible that you were simply blessed with a rare gift that his children haven't had in centuries."

"_Gift_?" she asked, scowling at Chiron. "How is this a _gift_? People touch me and they turn to _ash_! Sure it only happens to people that are trying to hurt me _now_, but what if it grows? What if it starts to happen to people who touch me to pat me on the back or shake my hand! What if it starts happening to people I'm only sparring with?"

"I will do my utmost to research this matter," he assured her, placing a comforting hand on top of hers. "In the meantime, don't panic over it. That will only make matters worse." He gave her hands a gentle pat and pulled away.

Vivi sighed. "I suppose I will just have to be patient. So what happened after I passed out? How did I get to camp?"

"Sirus, uh… _borrowed_ a car and drove you here."

"How long was I unconscious?"

"Almost a day now. I notified your aunt that you arrived, but I decided not to include the detail about your unconsciousness."

"Probably a smart move," the girl answered with a slight grin. "So do I get a tour of camp now?"

"Maybe you should rest a while."

"I've been resting for nearly a day," she informed him sternly, turning and climbing off the bed. She ran a hand through her hair and wrinkled her nose at all the knots. "Jeez, I bet my hair looks like a crow's nest." She shook her hair and reached into her pocket, pulling out a rubber band before pulling most of her hair up in a ponytail. Her bangs still fell to cover her forehead, concealing it from view.

"If you're so determined, then I suppose we might as well go on. But first…" He wheeled himself over to a side table and pulled open the little drawer in it. He pulled something out and wheeled over to the girl. "Mr. D. and I have discussed your scar at length and we have decided it would be best, for now, if the others remain unaware of it."

"Why?"

"The double pronged spear is the mark of the Lord of the Underworld. As I'm sure you can imagine, he doesn't have the best of reputations and, should other campers see his mark on your forehead, they will likely believe it a mark of claim. We would rather not cause a panic, at least not until we have done an investigation into the origins of the mark so we can explain it in its entirety."

The girl sighed and took the thing from Chiron. She pushed her hair out of her forehead and tilted her head back so gravity wouldn't return it to its previous position. Then she peeled off the back of the sticker-thing and pasted it to the center of her forehead, right over the scar. She rubbed it in then looked forward again. After a second, she was surprised to find she couldn't feel it there anymore. With a frown, she walked over to a wall mirror and looked in it. With a frown, she pushed her bangs around, surprised that she couldn't even see where it was. It was like there had never been a scar on her forehead in the first place. Vivi wasn't sure how she felt about that.

"Now, I believe it's time I give you a tour, hm?"

**A/N: This is all speculation, not the actual reasoning. The **_**real**_** reason, for those of you that didn't figure it out, is the same reason that Harry turned Quirrell into ash in cannon: the protective spell caused by her mother sacrificing herself to save her. I don't know if the movies make that information clear, so if that's all you know about the series then try reading the books. When the time comes, I'll have Dumbledore explain to her the real reason for this 'ability', but until then she'll be left in the dark, worrying over the possibilities of what it could become. **


	7. Cabin Eleven

**What Makes a Hero**

_Cabin Eleven_

The tour was awesome. Vivi smiled and waved at the players when they passed the volleyball pit and a few other campers offered smiles and waves in return. It seemed most of the campers were older than her by several years, but that wasn't such a big deal. Nor was the fact that most of the satyrs were bigger than Sirus. She'd spent enough time at parties or weddings or such in Wizarding Britain – the Potters and Longbottoms often invited her to go with them to various things, sometimes Cissy and Lucius would take her as well (those times were few and far between; never very fun either) – that things like age and size really didn't bother her.

They continued on through the strawberry fields. The girl took a deep breath to inhale the scent as she watched campers pick bushels while satyrs played on their reed pipes. Some glanced up and offered smiles, a couple calling greetings to Chiron. "You grow strawberries?" she asked the horse-man.

"For export to Olympus and New York restaurants; it pays our expenses," he answered. "Plus the strawberries take almost no effort. Mr. D. has that effect on fruit bearing plants. It works best on wine grapes, but he isn't allowed to grow them."

Vivi frowned. "Why not?"

"He got in trouble with the Lord of the Skies. That's why he's here at camp: he was sent down to sober up."

"Is that why his eyes were all bloodshot?"

"Yeah." The child nodded.

The next thing they saw was the forest. It was _huge_! At least a quarter of the valley was taken up by the thick trees. "The woods are stocked, if you want to try your luck. But make sure to go armed."

"Stocked with what? And why armed?"

"You'll see yourself next Friday – there's a capture the flag game scheduled for then. Do you have your own sword and shield? Oh, I guess you wouldn't. You'll just have to stop by the armory. I think size two will work…"

After that, they passed an archery range, a canoeing lake, stables (which Chiron didn't seem to like for reasons the brunette thought were obvious), a javelin range, an amphitheater, and an arena where Chiron said they had sword and spear fights. Finally they arrived at the cabins. There were twelve and they were arranged in a large horseshoe shape with two on the far end and five on each side. They all looked different, but had a brass number above the doors, odds on the left and evens on the right. In the center of the field was a huge stone firepit. A little girl around her age was sitting at the side of the fire, prodding it with a poker.

Happy to see someone so close to her in age – she'd thought Annabeth was going to be the only one – she waved brightly and called a "Hullo!"

The little girl gave her a surprised, but somewhat pleased, look before smiling and waving her poker in response. Vivi grinned but then looked back at Chiron and frowned. "Hey, we haven't seen any other centaurs."

"No. My kinsmen are wild and barbaric folk I'm afraid. You might encounter them in the wilderness or at major sporting events, but you won't see any here."

"Really? That doesn't sound right." The girl frowned a little more deeply. "Mr. Potter says that the herd that lives in the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts. He says it's like they have their own society and they think they're better than humans. Most of them anyway. And that they like to stargaze and practice divination."

"Yes, there are some of my kinsmen like that," the man agreed with a nod. "I met that heard once and they weren't overly pleased with my desire to teach young heroes. The ones here in America are… different."

"Different good or different bad?"

"A little of both. Here's the cabin you'll be staying at. Number 11, the Hermes cabin." There was a caduceus over the door. The cabin itself looked very old with a warn-out threshold and peeling brown paint. Inside the cabin were a good number of people, more than she'd seen in any other cabin anyway. Bunk beds lined the walls but there were still a few sleeping bags on the ground. Chiron didn't go inside, but the campers all bowed respectfully to him. "Good luck, Vivi. I have an archery lesson in a few minutes that I would rather not be late for. I'll see you at dinner."

"Okay," she responded. "See you later, Chiron." She called with a wave as the centaur galloped away. Then she turned to her new cabin mates and offered her biggest, brightest smile. "Hullo! I'm Vivi Black, I look forward to meeting all of you!"

"British?" a boy around fourteen with blonde hair and blue eyes asked, looking at her as if she were an interesting new test subject. It was the boy from her dreams: Luke.

"Yep!"

"Regular or undetermined?"

"Huh?"

Several of the other campers snickered, but an older boy with dark hair and mischievous blue eyes stepped forward. "Now now, everyone. It's not her fault she's new." He offered the girl a smile that made her uneasy. It was the kind of smile that someone gave you when they were plotting the various ways to bring about your downfall. Draco and Lucius had smiles like that and she didn't like them one bit. "Do you know who your godly parent is?"

Vivi opened her mouth to tell them what the man in her dreams had told her, but then she remembered his warning to not share anything he'd said with anyone else just yet – not until she was older, stronger, capable of defending herself. So she lied and said "no" then shrugged innocently. A few campers groaned, but she ignored them.

"Undetermined then," the man told her. "That means you'll stay here in the Hermes cabin until your godly parent claims you. If he or she is a minor god or goddess, you'll stay here anyway."

"Oh okay," the girl answered brightly, clearly not caring either way.

"I'm Scott, by the way. Scott Masters, counselor of the Hermes cabin. Sorry things are so crowded, but it's usually like that here. You can have that corner." He pointed to a rather small space in the corner that would be just big enough for her and her trunk.

"Okay," she answered, still upbeat. She dragged her trunk over to her corner and fixed it against the wall before dropping down to sit on top of it.

"Luke," Scott started, turning to look at the blonde. "Why don't you take Vivi here out to the armory and get her a sword and shield? We have the arena for sword practice in ten."

"No problem." The boy stood up and walked toward the door, the girl standing up and following after. When they stepped outside, the blonde gave her a genial smile. "You do know they're going to raid your trunk, don't you?"

"Hermes is the god of thieves, right?" she asked, clearly not disturbed by his assessment. "It would be stupid not to expect something like that." She gave him a wide smile, eyes dancing with a startling fire that the boy had to wonder over. Clearly she had something planned for anyone who tried to steal from her, but what? She didn't look like much – she was all of three and a half feet tall (give or take an inch) with pale, delicate skin and dainty features – but that didn't always mean anything. Plus, she had a queen's disposition, a regal way of holding herself and looking at things, like she was in absolute control.

Luke decided he may as well ask, "What happens if they try to go through your stuff?"

"Nothing," she told him with a sweet smile, "but should I find something missing… well let's just say it would be prudent to leave my stuff alone."

The blonde laughed. "You think you're something, huh? Do you even know how to fight?"

"Nope," she answered brightly.

The boy examined her seriously, wondering what was going on in that head of hers. Normally, he'd brush her attitude off as bravado, but the way she spoke… there was such conviction in her voice that he decided he wouldn't be going through her stuff anytime soon. He shook his head and chuckled to himself, offering silent chastisements over worrying about this _little girl's_ retaliation. "There's the armory, right up ahead." He led her up to it and pulled the creaky old doors open. There wasn't much of a variety – too many campers in Cabin 11, like always – but there was a decent knife and a couple short swords and a spear that looked nearly ready to snap in two. "I think a knife would be a good fit for you," he told the girl with a smile.

The girl jumped and scowled at him, the fire in her eyes flaring angrily. Clearly she found the suggestion of a knife insulting. He opened his mouth to tell her what he'd told Annabeth last year – that a knife required a smart touch and only certain people could use it – but she spoke first, "My mum's cousin used a knife," she stated matter-of-factly.

"Oh, so what's the problem? Is she mean to you or something?"

"No, I haven't met her," she informed him curtly. "However, I know that she only used a knife for one thing: torture."

Luke's stomach twisted uneasily. She had a torturer in her family? Well that was… unsettling to say the least. He wondered if that had to do with the warning she'd given him, but quickly dismissed the notion – she obviously didn't want a knife so she was probably opposed to torture. "A knife doesn't have to be used like that," he assured her. "Knives can be very useful and versatile weapons if you know how to use them."

"I don't care," she informed him simply, crossing her arms and scowling at him. She didn't seem as angry now, but he could tell she wouldn't be budging on this. "I will _not_ use a knife."

"A sword it is then," he told her with a concealed sigh. He turned and picked up one of the swords before unsheathing it and holding it out to her. "How does it feel?"

She grabbed hold of the weapon and immediately frowned. Her eyes narrowed at it as she twisted it around in her hand. She pointed it straight out in front of her and then downward at a forty-five degree angle. "Odd," she announced. "It feels odd. Wrong." She lifted it up and held it in front of her face, frowning into the celestial bronze. Then she just shook her head and handed it back to Luke who shrugged and handed her the other sword. She repeated the previous process and continued to look dissatisfied. She peered into the weapons' shed then sighed. "It will work." She took the sheath from the blonde and encased the sword before fixing it across her back.

Luke chuckled and reached up to the top shelf and fiddled around for a second before pulling a small bronze shield down and holding it out to her. "That's probably as close as it's going to get." The girl took the shield and rolled it around in her hands, examining the pegasus emblazoned on the dull surface. "Come on, don't want to be late to practice now do we?" He patted her lightly on the shoulder and the pair started back toward the cabin where they could see campers starting to file out for their swordsmanship class.


	8. Witches and Wizards

**A/N: The only reason - I repeat, the ONLY reason - I'm posting two chapters at once is because I forgot to posts last week and the week before; this is because my schedule was jam-packed and I was trying to work on My Name is Nami and it just slipped my mind. I did already have this chapter and the next one done - I have done to chapter 18 right now - but I just forgot to put it up here. Sorry about that.**

**For those of you that also read My Name is Nami (a One Piece/Harry Potter crossover), I'm about halfway done with the chapter and will finish it as soon as possible. My schedule is, unfortunately, hardly better than last week's, but I'm trying, I promise.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy the story.**

**What Makes a Hero**

_Witches and Wizards_

Vivi quickly found she had a talent for swordplay. She wasn't as good as some of the other Hermes campers, but she managed to beat a few. They were all stronger than her, but she was quick and graceful and the art just came naturally to her. Especially when she had that spar with Luke and he'd pressed her so hard that suddenly everything went into hyper-focus and she just knew exactly what she needed to do. She still lost to the blonde though, but he was extremely impressed. "That was great, Vivi! Keep it up and you'll be the best in the whole camp a few years from now." The girl only grinned in response, eyes sparking as she picked up her sword and prepared for another spar. By the time Scott called for them to stop, both she and Luke were tired and sweating, but they still grinned, happy for the challenge.

After that they had canoeing, and the girl could honestly say she _never_ wanted to get in a boat of any kind _ever_ again. It wasn't _that_ bad, she supposed, but still. No more. Then they went to climb on the lava-spitting rock wall which brought Vivi a little closer to death than she wanted to be. After that they all got some down time to hang out in their cabins or talk to other campers or whatever.

Vivi went to her corner and plopped down beside her trunk and undid the latch. Her things were all stacked neatly in exactly the way she'd left them: books on both side (Greek/Latin on the right and English on the left) and her clothes in the middle (socks and underwear close to her, wizarding clothes at the far end, and muggle clothes in between). Nothing seemed out of place at all, but she had little doubt that one of her cabin mates had seen fit to pilfer her trunk – she would have to do a quick inventory check later, but she was really too tired right now. Instead, she grabbed the Greek book on top – an old tome about Potions that she'd begged Andromeda to get her when they were in Diagon Alley to buy Dora's school things (Andromeda had refused, but Dora had winked and snuck the book in with her ones for school). The girl then closed the trunk and settled back against it to read.

Potions was one of her favorite things to read about, mostly because she could actually brew potions outside of school without a wand and without getting into any trouble. Mrs. Potter – an old friend of her uncle/godfather's – and Mr. Snape – an old friend of her mother's – seemed surprised by her interest but always gave her tips and bits of advice. Mrs. Potter even let her help brew a potion for her mail-order potions business once!

She had Defense Against the Dark Arts books too. She'd read most cover-to-cover but she usually skimmed over some things. The pictures were always cool too! Her favorite pictures were in the (Care of) Magical Creatures books Andromeda actually _would_ buy her. She loved to sit and imagine adventures with the creatures in the pictures, and sometimes she would even draw those imaginings out. It was always so much fun to imagine, but she bet it would be a hard life. Would it be worth it? She thought so.

She was reading about the various uses of dragon's blood in potion-making when a conch horn sounded out of nowhere and made her jump. She looked up, blinking stupidly as she watched the Hermes campers stampede one another in an attempt to get through the door. "Come on, Vivi," a girl with black hair and green eyes that looked to be ten or eleven called to her. The little girl shook her head to rid the confusion and stood up, setting her book on top of her trunk before hurrying after her cabin mates. "I'm Lou Ellen, daughter of Hecate," the girl told her.

Vivi scrunched up her face as she tried to think of who that might be, but she came up blank. "Sorry," she told the older girl with a sheepish smile. "I don't know much about Greek mythology. I really only know about the more well-known gods." She leaned in real close and whispered, "I don't even know who half the ones with cabins are."

Lou Ellen seemed surprised for a moment then she laughed. "Oh, we'll have to get that fixed quickly. Hecate is the goddess of the Mist and of magic."

The girl sucked in her breath sharply and nearly tripped over her feet in surprise – which was weird because Blacks _never_ trip over their own feet. "There's a goddess of _magic_?"

The woman smiled. "There's a god or goddess for most everything."

"Wow," the girl murmured, eyes wide. "So witches and wizards, they're… related to her? Or they're like blessed by her or something?"

"Sorcerers and Sorceresses," Lou Ellen corrected, tone firm but gentle. "Wand-waving witches and wizards aren't actually real."

"Yes they are!" she argued forcefully as they came to a stop near what she assumed was where they got food. All eyes turned to her, but that didn't bother Vivi. Any time she went anywhere in the magical community, she got stared at. It was just something you got used to after a while. "My mum was one! So's Andy and Dora and Mr. and Mrs. Potter and-and an entire community full of people! Ten percent of the planet's population is a witch or a wizard!"

"Well I've never heard of them," Lou Ellen answered seriously with a frown. "What can they do?"

"A lot. I don't know everything yet because I'm not trained – school doesn't start until age eleven after all – and—"

"There's a school for witches and wizards?" another, older camper asked, looking absolutely stunned.

"No," she informed him. "There are _a lot_ of schools for witches and wizards. There's only one in Britain, but the United States has five. Then there's two in Canada and one in Latin America. You mean you guys don't know about them? But I thought you all knew about the Wizarding World. I mean… you know about monsters right? Werewolves and Cyclopes and Acromantula and Basilisks and Dementors and Boggarts and Dragons?"

"Yes, yes, no, yes, no, no, and yes," Annabeth announced. It seemed the other campers had migrated over to see what the fuss was all about. "What's a Boggart? And an Acromantula… is that some kind of spider?" The blonde haired, gray eyed kids looked unsettled by the thought.

"Yes, Acromantulas are spiders," she answered in her best school-teacher voice. "They're native to the rainforests of Southeast Asia. Their venom is one of the most toxic in the world and commonly used in poisons. The average adult male has a leg span of fifteen feet—" the Athenians let out a collective squeak of fear, "—with the females typically being larger. They're capable of human speech and—"

"Okay, let's not give the Athena kids a panic attack, all right?" a girl cut in, moving to be between the little girl and the frightened demigods. She had pretty blonde hair and blue eyes. She leaned in close to the seven year old. "Athena kids are deathly afraid of spiders."

The frightened Athenians were ushered away to their tables followed by the other cabins. Hermes was right at the end with Vivi being the last person in their cabin's line. When they sat down at the overcrowded table – it was all she could do not to fall off the end, but she was sure that was better than being squished to death like some of the others – Luke asked her about Boggarts. "No one knows what they actually look like," she told him. "They live in dark, cold places and whenever they get close to someone, they take the shape of what they fear most."

"How do you kill them? Do you just kill the monster they assume or…?"

"Laughter," she told him with a grin. "They _hate_ laughter."

Then she looked around at everyone, confused as to why no one was eating or even reaching for food. She knew a thing or two about manners so she figured it was due to one of two reasons: either they had to wait until Mr. D. and Chiron started eating or they were waiting for a speech. It seemed the second was the case when Chiron banged his hoof against the platform he stood on and shouted, "To the gods!"

"To the gods!" everyone echoed obediently.

"You just tell the cup what you want to drink and it magically appears," Lou Ellen told her. "Can your witches and wizards do that?"

"I dunno. I'll owl Aunt Andy and ask her," the child responded as she gathered her food on her plate like everyone else. She noted, much to her confusion, that no one started eating after they filled their plates up. Instead they waited patiently, as if some sort of cue to eat was about to come. Then, to the girl's surprise, they all stood up and filed over to the hearth and began tossing food into the fire and saying the name of a god or goddess. When it was Vivi's turn, she took a nice big piece of brisket off her plate but paused before she tossed it in. Who was she supposed to make an offering to? She wasn't supposed to tell them about… She shook her head and tossed the meat in and simply said, "Father." Then she returned to her seat.

As they ate, Vivi talked to the other students about the various monsters she'd read about in Defense and Magical Creatures books. They also discussed what she meant when she said she would 'owl' her 'aunt'. Even Lou Ellen joined that conversation, clearly intrigued by the culture of the underground magical society. When they finished eating, Chiron pounded his hoof again and everyone looked his way. Mr. D. – whom she recognized from her dream-vision-things – got up with a huge sigh. "Yes, I suppose I'd better say hello to all you brats. Well hello. Our activities director, Chiron, says the next capture the flag game is a week from Friday. Cabin six currently holds the laurels." The blonde haired, gray eyed Athenians let out a cheer. "Personally, I couldn't care less, but congratulations. Also I should tell you we have a new camper today, Vicky Bakers."

Chiron leaned over and whispered something in his ear.

"Er, Vivi Black. That's right. Hurrah and all that. Now run along to your silly campfire. Go on."

Everyone cheered and headed down toward the amphitheater where the Apollo cabin (as Luke informed her they were) led them in a sing along. They sang camp songs about gods and ate s'mores and joked around. Luke and Lou Ellen pointed out which campers belonged to which cabin which represented which god and the girl felt a little less guilty about not studying Greek mythology.

As it was getting late evening and everything began to wind down, a conch horn sounded again and everyone headed back to their cabins. Vivi yawned and picked up her book so she could open her trunk. She put it back where it belonged and fished out her sleeping bag – which she was grateful that Andy had insisted she pack. She settled it on the ground and climbed in before allowing herself to drift off to sleep.

The next instant she was in a dark throne room. The floors were black and the walls were black and there were dark shadows in every corner. The place was still beautiful to her, the architecture incredible and the dark, shadowy place seemed so strangely welcoming. Before her were two thrones. The one on her left was unoccupied and looked like a large black flower. The other looked like it was made of skeletons and it had a man sitting in it.

Well, man wasn't exactly the right word. He had to be at least ten feet tall – like Hagrid only not as bulky. His skin was pale and his eyes black, his black hair falling to his shoulders. He dressed in black as well, the fabric of his clothes seeming to writhe. She realized the cloth was made of damned souls, hundreds of them interlaced to form the strange fabric this man wore. This wasn't the first time she had met him in her dreams, but it still surprised her every time she saw that strange fabric. It was almost unbelievable to think such a thing was possible and yet… here it was.

The man smiled at her. It wasn't the warm smile Ted and Andy and Dora gave her all the time, but it wasn't the condescending I-hate-your-guts-but-I'm-gonna-suck-up-to-you-because-I-want-your-fame-and-or-money smile she got from so many people either. It was affectionate but distant, cold but not in a mean way. "Vulpecula," he greeted, his voice relaying the same odd half-and-half attitude that his smile gave off.

"Don't call me that," she grumbled, scowling at the man and crossing her arms.

"It is a good name, _Vulpecula_," he enunciated each syllable carefully, almost mockingly. He seemed amused with her. "The fox constellation. It definitely suits you."

"How would _you_ know?"

"I may not interfere much, but I _do_ watch you often, Vulpecula," he told her, his tone exasperated in the way it would be if she'd asked that same question a million times. Which she hadn't. She figured he must have heard it a lot from his other kids, back _before_ he made that oath – which he broke.

"Why am I here?" she asked him. "Why did you tell me who I am and get me sent to a place you say I would be an outcast in if they knew the truth?"

"You are here because I want to teach you that there are two sides to every story," he informed her calmly. "I told you who you are so that you don't feel lost or ignored or hated. You are my daughter and you deserve that knowledge. You will see many at the camp who remain unclaimed; they are always depressed and lapse into self-loathing. Some even begin to loath gods in general."

"So why did you get me sent here? I would have been fine staying with Aunt Andy and going to Hogwarts."

"No, you wouldn't. There's a prophecy about the next child of the eldest gods – myself, the Lord of the Skies, and the Lord of the Seas – to reach sixteen. If the prophecy refers to you, and there's a good chance it does, then you will need to know all about using weapons and the various gods and goddesses and monsters and everything you will learn at Camp Half Blood as well as what you learn at that magical school of your mother's."

"I hate prophecies," she muttered with a sigh.

"That, Vulpecula, is something we have in common." He waved his arm and a black chair rose from the ground, facing the god. "Come, sit. We're going to talk."

The girl did as she was told. "Don't you mean that _you're_ going to talk and _I'm_ going to listen?"

The man seemed especially amused by that comment. "Precisely." Vivi folded her hands in her lap and sat primly, the way she'd been taught to do in formal situations. Then her father began to tell her stories about the past.


	9. Painting

**What Makes a Hero**

_Painting_

Vivi had to be bodily dragged out of her sleeping bag the next morning. She blinked drowsily, still dressed in pajamas, as she was pulled out the door and up toward the dining pavilion. The girl was surprised to find she wasn't the only camper in this situation – another kid with light brown bedhead and a third blonde with the same messy-hair affliction. The girl wondered with a frown if she looked that ridiculous and messy – Andy would throw a fit!

"Maybe she's the daughter of Hypnos," Lou Ellen mused, looking like she was trying her hardest not to laugh.

"No, she's too… collected to be a child of Hypnos," another kid laughed.

One of the kids with bedhead blinked sleepily and frowned at them. "I think they just insulted us…" He yawned. "Too tired to care…" he murmured, nearly falling to the ground. One of the others caught him and jerked him upright, startling him back awake.

"Plus she was full of energy yesterday," Luke pointed out. "I guess she's just not a morning person." He patted her head and laughed when she swatted the hand away.

Vivi rubbed her eyes, trying to force herself awake. "I hate mornings," she grumbled in agreement with the blonde's statement. She scowled at the sky and wished she could hide under an awning or something. "And sunlight," she muttered. She _really_ hated sunshine – she could already feel her skin sizzling and it felt like her eyes were burning too. It always felt like that for her – unless she coated herself in SPF 180 several times daily (which she had yesterday) and applied that potion Mrs. Potter made for her eyes. She groaned and tried to hide her arms in the shadows of her body but she could already see a slight pink tint invading the pale, porcelain color of her skin.

"Oh so you're a vampire now?" a boy – Travis – asked, grinning tauntingly at her.

"Well I guess we can rule out Apollo!" Luke told her with a laugh.

"If I were a vampire, I would be dead," she responded sternly with a tired glare, deciding to ignore the blonde's not-so-helpful comment. She was starting to wake up – feeling like one was standing in an oven would do that. "I'm going to put on some sunscreen," she mumbled before turning and hurrying off toward the cabin. A few people gave her curious or sympathetic looks, but she ignored them. It wasn't until she was standing in front of her trunk that she realized she was still in her pajamas. Her cheeks turned pink, and not from sun-exposure.

Her pajamas were nice enough – a matching silk pant-button-up suit that was black and purple – so it wasn't that bad. She just sighed and shook her head before pulling open her trunk and removing a black t-shirt with a British flag on the front, a pair of loose jeans, and her sunscreen. She changed quickly before coating every visible surface in sunscreen. Then she got the eye-drop potion and dripped it into her eyes before putting everything else away. That done, Vivi put on her socks and sneakers then scanned through her trunk to see what, if anything, the other campers had taken. Her clothes and books were untouched, as expected, so she pulled out the large box on the bottom of her trunk and pulled it out.

She pushed the lid up and pursed her lips. Her assorted potions were untouched (they were labeled with their proper Latin names so the Hermes kids probably didn't want to risk it), but the other trinkets were moved around like someone had rifled through them. Her foe mirror was missing so was the Snitch Mr. Potter had given her for her last birthday (he said it was for good luck), her omnioculars, her Gobstones, her wizards' chess set, and her reusable hangman game. So she was right, someone had gone through her trunk and taken what they pleased.

Her eyes flashed in anger and she looked to the mirror on the inside of the lid. Vivi reached forward and tapped it. The surface rippled as one would expect the surface of a still lake to. "My Mirror of Security, please show who has stolen from me." The surface continued to ripple for a moment then colors appeared in the ripples until they formed into the image of two boys: Travis and Conner Stoll, sons of Hermes. "Thank you." She wiped her hand across it and the mirror and it showed her reflection once more. Her eyes scanned her potions and she picked up a medium-sized vial with a grin, a plan forming in her mind. She tucked the vial into her pocket and closed her box up before settling it on the false bottom of her trunk (under it was her cauldron, potions supplies, a broomstick, and a few other just-in-case items). She didn't bother checking it as the false bottom was enchanted to only open at the touch of the Black Family Crest Charm that hung from a chain around her neck.

Once her things were stowed safely in their places once more, she looked at the mirror in the top of her trunk (a foe/security mirror that worked just fine as a real mirror) and put her hair up into a tight bun. Then she closed her trunk, placing her hand lightly on the Family Crest emblazoned on the front (the trunk had been her mother's before her and her grandfather's before that). "It seems I'm going to need guidance from my ancestors for this. I've never been quite as sneaky as a Slytherin." She patted the top of the trunk before turning and hurrying off, hoping that she might just catch the tail end of breakfast.

She didn't of course; she wasn't that lucky. Thankfully Luke grabbed her some toast and fruit so she wouldn't be starving later. She dropped a particular juicy-looking strawberry into the fire and murmured "Father" before munching on the snack as she followed after Scott and the other Hermes campers. They had arts and crafts that morning which Vivi decided was the best thing _ever_.

Most of the others from the cabin spread out to do whatever they apparently excelled at individually, Scott standing beside her to give a mini tour of the building. "You should start out small," he told her, ushering her toward a giant easel with a paint kit below it. "Do some painting. Wednesday you can try sculpting and if you can manage that without causing any trouble, we might move you on to something more complicated." Then he just left her standing there.

Vivi just stood there for a while, staring up at the white canvas. It was so tall, especially with the easel, that she couldn't reach the top and it was wider than her arms if she stretched them out as far as they would go. Such a vast area of white space was intimidating. How could she ever manage to cover the entire thing? What could she possibly paint on it that could take up that much room? What could she possibly paint period? She'd never painted before! Certainly not with _muggle_ paints!

_Enough!_ She snapped at herself. _You are a_ Black_! And the daughter of Hades, one of the Big Three! Something as simple as a _canvas_ should _not_ intimidate you! _The little girl set her jaw and nodded to herself. First things first, she needed to deal with the can't-reach-the-top problem so she walked around to the back of the easel and examined the mechanism. It took a little thought, but she soon figured out how to bring the canvas lower to the ground so she could reach it better. Then she returned to the front, nodded in approval of the height, and stepped to the little table beside it where the paints were. She grabbed a paint tray and examined the colors, pursing her lips in thought. Next problem: what should she paint?

An idea struck her and she grinned broadly before collecting a number of paints and filling up the little bubbles on the tray. She had to mix a few colors, but not too many. Then she snatched up an apron, tied it around her waist, stuck a few brushes in it, and grabbed her paint tray. When she stepped back in front of the easel, she felt that intimidation factor again, but she squelched it with her determination. She was going to paint this for better or for worse! She picked up a brush, dabbed a little paint on it, and got to work.

The rest of their time in the arts and crafts building blurred by. Time became meaningless and the entire world seemed to fade away as she concentrated solely on her painting. Colors mixed together on the canvas, slowly but surely forming an image, the one from her dreams. Black was the most common color as it wrapped around the separated images that looked like large scrying mirrors suspended in the darkness. Each image was different: the one in the top left corner was of the dark haired boy on the monkey bars looking up at something, the one directly below it at the bottom left corner was of Annabeth climbing on the lava rock wall, the one a little to the right and in between them was of a Chinese-looking boy with a body that looked a little too big for his young frame that was shooting arrows at targets, to the right and above that one was a boy with black hair and pale skin that looked a lot like Vivi herself as he played one of those big RRPG games at some arcade, directly below that near the edge of the canvas was a Latino boy around her age that was running (from what she didn't know), directly across from the Chinese boy was a black girl with curly hair and gold eyes sitting under a tree and surrounded by ghosts, in the top right corner was a boy with short blonde hair and blue eyes standing in front of a large group of armored kids as they raced off to some kind of battle(?), and finally in the bottom right corner was a girl with deeply tanned skin (maybe one of those Native Americans?) with short dark hair and dark eyes that was sitting on a surfboard and frowning uncertainly at the incoming waves.

"Vivi!" Luke's voice called from behind her canvas. "You about done?"

The girl peered around her canvas, not noticing the paint flecks on her face, neck, and shirt as well as in her hair. She could see that the other Hermes campers were all packed up and ready to go, just waiting on her. Which was odd, they'd never waited on her for anything else before. "Yeah, I'm done," she answered with a grin, tossing the paint brushes, paint tray, and apron back onto the counter.

"Then let's see it," Lou Ellen exclaimed with a taunting grin.

"You don't—" Luke started.

"All right," she answered brightly, walking back toward her canvas so she could turn it around.

"Here, let me help then." He strode over and grabbed one end of the painting, careful not to put his fingers down on the front, and helped her turn it around so everyone else could see.

Vivi wasn't watching them when they got their first glimpse as she was trying to turn the easel around with her foot so they could sit it back down. When she finally managed, she gently tugged on the canvas to get the blonde's attention and they settled it on the easel. She didn't notice that everyone else was staring at her painting in surprise, all quiet and curious. Luke took a few steps back so he could get his first good look at it and his eyebrows rose.

"Impressive," he complimented, nodding his head. "So who are they? I recognize Annabeth, but I don't know any of the others."

"I have no idea!" she answered brightly with a grin as she observed the canvas with her hands on her hips. "I think the dark haired boy in the corner's name is Percy and the blonde haired boy in the other corner is Jason… um the girl in the other corner is Piper I think and the Chinese boy is… Frank?" She pursed her lips and examined the painting as if it had all the answers. Then she shook her head and shrugged. "I don't know about the others."

"Why are you painting people you don't know?"

"It was the first idea I had," she told him with a shrug. "So, weren't we leaving?"


	10. Revenge

**A/N: and here is your as-scheduled, on-time update! If you hadn't noticed before, I was trying to update every Wednesday, but I kinda missed the last two and that's why I updated yesterday. Well I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

**What Makes a Hero**

_Revenge_

Vivi spent the rest of the day wondering how to put her idea for revenge into action. It had seemed brilliant at first, but not that she thought about it and realized how much taller than her the Stoll brothers were, it didn't seem like it was all that smart. Maybe she should try an aging potion instead? She wasn't sure she had one but maybe…

No, no she would stick with her original idea. But how to go about it…?

That's when it hit her and she felt like a total idiot. She slipped away to the cabin after lunch when everyone else went canoeing (they didn't push her; after all, they didn't want to be scrubbing vomit out of a canoe again). She examined the room critically until she found the brothers' things. She went their stuff until she found their shampoo/conditioner (she found her snitch, chess set, omnioculars, and pretty much everything except her foe mirror in the process). She twisted off the cap of the bottles and pulled the potion out of her pocket. She put half of it in one bottle and the other half in the other then put the caps back on and returned everything to where it belonged, even the stolen stuff. After all, tipping them off wouldn't be good.

Then she went back to her stuff, put the empty vial away, and pulled out one of her Greek potions books. With a small grin, settled on the ground beside her trunk and began to read. Luke came to get her after they finished canoeing so she left behind her book and went with them to the rock wall. The rest of the day passed much like the previous, and Vivi had a wonderful time. The minor sunburn she'd gotten that morning when she was dragged out to breakfast started to bother her, but she just applied a sunburn cream and it healed right up. After that, several of the campers – including all of the Hecate kids – started asking her about her potions. She told them about a few of the ones she had, but they seemed more interested in others – ones she'd only read about.

After their shower time, she started hearing the shrieking. Her eyes sparkled and a smirk formed on her face as she headed toward the sound at a calm pace. Everyone else had started running, some people had drawn weapons or grabbed shields, but Vivi just stayed calm and tried not to laugh. She pushed her way through the crowd – which had come to a halt. The people in the back were leaning around on their tip toes, trying to see the cause of the commotion. Never before had Vivi been so glad she was small. She slipped easily through places she wouldn't have been able to had she been just a little bigger.

When she reached the edge of the crowd, she looked into the center and grinned at the Stoll brothers who were freaking out because their hair was growing and growing and growing. It was already to their shoulders and was rapidly growing even longer. The little girl laughed and looked over to the confused and worried (and more than a little amused) Luke. "I told you it was a bad idea to steal from me!"

The blonde looked at her in surprise. "_You_ did this?" She nodded, still grinning. "How?"

"A little hair growth potion in their shampoo. Don't worry, their hair will stop growing when it reaches the ground. Connor! Travis!" she called to the boys who whirled around in the direction of her voice, their hair having already grown down past their face so they probably couldn't see anything. "If you don't return everything you stole from me, it'll only get worse!" Then, with a grin, she vanished into the crowd.

"_You_ did this?" they shouted. "Get back here you little—" That night Vivi didn't go to sleep which was probably wise. She kept her sword and shield within arms' reach as she leaned back against her trunk with her potions book and continued to read. Travis and Connor had gotten Silena Beauregard from the Aphrodite cabin to cut their hair back to its normal style after it stopped growing, but that didn't mean they weren't still sore about the incident.

They didn't try to get her back that night nor did they do anything the next day. It was making Vivi feel anxious, wondering when they would try something and what exactly they would try (they hadn't returned her stuff yet). She slipped some Babbling Beverage into their drinks at lunch so they spent the rest of the day talking continuous nonsense. They kept giving her evil looks, but they didn't really do anything. They sparred with her, sure, but she was better at swordplay than they were so it wasn't really revenge in any way.

That night when they went to bed, Vivi with her sword close by, just in case, she found their 'revenge'. There were five snakes in the foot of her sleeping bag. She jumped and they started laughing. The girl simply ignored them and opened her sleeping bag all the way to get a look at them. _"What are you guys doing here?" _she murmured in Parseltongue. The laughing stopped.

"_Those boys put us here,"_ one hissed.

"_We were minding our own business,"_ hissed a second.

"_Just laying out in the sun,"_ grumbled a third.

"_Then they just scoop us in a dark bag!" _the fourth complained.

"_It's not warm in the bag! We wanted to lay in the sun!"_ the final snake explained.

"_I'm very sorry,"_ she told them in their language. _"The sun isn't out anymore."_

"_Of course not!"_

"_Do we look stupid, Lady?"_

"_Well you're all free to go now. Slither on out so I can go to bed."_

They did as she was asked, but the first snake stopped before it left her corner. _"If they do this again, we shall bite them."_

"_I'll convey the warning."_ Satisfied with that, the snake followed the others out the cabin door. "The snakes say they'll bite you if you try that again," she called over to the Stoll brothers.

"You… you can speak snake?" Scott asked, clearly stunned.

"It's called Parseltongue," she informed him with a smile. Then she settled into her sleeping bag. "Goodnight."

Vivi had her first and last lesson in pegasus riding the next day. She had a vague idea as to why the pegasi didn't like her – that reason being related to her father – but that didn't mean she was happy about it. She really loved flying on her broomstick (even if it tended to rain and sometimes even storm whenever she got on it) and she had hoped pegasus riding might be an even better experience. Unfortunately, the pegasi had immediately displayed an aversion to her very presence. She hadn't even thought about trying to push it but Connor and Travis – dung-brained scumbags that they were – decided it would be loads of fun to do just that. Connor grabbed one of the pegasi by its reigns while Travis picked up the seven year old, ignoring her loud protests and wild struggling.

Travis put her on the back of the pegasus which immediately went wild, trying to buck her up. Frightened, the girl held onto the reigns with all her might and ducked her body close to the creature's back as it went crazy. Then it took off into the air, doing wild maneuvers trying to throw her off. She heard several of the other campers shouting down below but didn't pay close enough attention to make out the words.

A storm rolled in from over the Long Island Sound, but was easily parted by the camp's barrier. Lightning flashed through the clouds, startling the pegasus a bit. That was nearly as bad as what happened less than a second later when the thunder rumbled through the air. It seemed to vibrate through Vivi's body, loosening her grip by the barest of fractions. Unfortunately, the barest of fractions was enough that, when the creature reared in mid-air, Vivi was knocked loose.

She screamed, flailing her arms and praying silently for some sort of rescue. She wished, illogically enough, that she'd thought to bring her broomstick so she could save herself. As she flailed her arms, she felt currents in the air seeming to solidify ever so slightly. Which was really _really_ weird because Hades had no control over the sky _at all_. Vivi started to get inexplicably tired as her fall seemed to slow down.

The word _relieved_ was an understatement of how she felt when she felt a pair of arms grabbing hold of her. Gray eyes blinked up at her savior, surprised to find an overly large boy a few years older than her with rainbows – of all things! – drawn on his camp shirt. The pegasus he was riding whinnied nervously but still delivered her safely to the ground where she was gently deposited on the ground. "Thank you," she curtly told the boy she didn't know (henceforth to be known as 'Mr. Rainbows').

Her legs almost didn't want to support her and her arms felt like jelly for the second time that week. Her back and sides were sore and she was pretty sure her legs were going to be sporting some nasty bruises for a while. Fire in her eyes, she turned toward the Stoll brothers and marched right up to them. She rose to her full height – which wasn't impressive but she knew how to make it seem like it was – and glared at them with all the ferocious intensity she could muster. They looked like kicked puppies – clearly they hadn't meant for the incident to get _that_ out of hand – but that didn't stop her. "This. Means. War." That said, she stepped around them and stomped off toward her cabin to take a minor pain potion (the wizarding equivalent of Tylenol) and plot her revenge upon the sons of Hermes.

A day passed with no retaliation from Vivi. Then two. Connor and Travis got so nervous they returned everything they had taken, even going so far as to reclaim the weird mirror from the Aphrodite cabin (they put up no protests because the mirror 'didn't even work'). The child had given them this weirdly unsettling smile – like something they would expect from an evil child of Hermes – and thanked them. Another day passed without retribution. The Stoll brothers got so twitchy they jumped at practically every sound which left their siblings and cabinmates snickering at them. "What could a child possibly do that would be so bad?" they teased.

They didn't get it, but they would. After the horrible and embarrassing days they'd had since stealing from the girl – which apparently was half-assed amusement to her – they didn't want to know what would happen to them when she was actually angry with them and seeking revenge. And that look she'd given them? _Scary_.

So the more time passed without the girl doing anything made them only served to make them wonder at the possibilities of what she _might_ do to them.

The day she got them back started out normal enough. Vivi had to be dragged out of bed, everyone else heading out ahead of her as she went to dress and apply sunscreen. She caught up to them before Chiron started breakfast off. They gave their offerings, same as usual, the resumed their seats. Everyone started to eat and that it when the brothers discovered that the day was not going to go their way: their food tasted like fire. They tried to douse it with a drink but not only did that not help, it seemed to make it worse. Then they started to breathe fire. Not enough to cause any sort of damage, unfortunately, but little puffs of fire started shooting unbidden from their mouths.

"Water! Water! Water!" they shouted at their cups. Water made it even _worse_.

"Milk!" one of the Apollo kids exclaimed. "Milk should help!"

"Milk!" they desperately demanded of their cups. The clear liquid abruptly turned white and they downed their glasses in seconds. The burning subsided but only slightly.

At the end of the table, Vivi just sat there, giggling like a maniac. "What did you do?" Lou Ellen asked her, looking amused as well.

"Dragon's Breath… Potion in their… their glasses!" she answered in between giggles. The brothers glared at her, a little glad the torment was over.

If only they knew that it was only the beginning. At canoeing, some kind of stink-bomb (_stink_ was an understatement) went off in their canoe, coating them in an unbreathable miasma of stink that had their eyes watering and their nose screaming in protest. They scrubbed for _hours_ that night, but the scent still clung to them.

After canoeing, they had arts and crafts where the paints spontaneously exploded, turning them into rainbow-colored, sticky works of art. They were told their clothes were 'unsalvageable' and had to change. Even after a decent scrubbing, paint still clung to their hair and behind their ears and on their elbows. Added to the stink it was just _humiliating_.

Lunch was next which seemed to pass without incident. The brothers were extremely suspicious of their food, to the point that they refused to eat more than a few nibbles and they only drank the barest of sips. After lunch, they had sword practice. At first everything seemed normal, but then the world started to spin for a few seconds. Colors dimmed and the ground seemed to be trying to shake them off of it. They stumbled around drunkenly throughout practice. Luke, Travis's sparring partner, thought it was some kind of 'drunken swordplay' idea so he didn't go easy on his poor victi— er, opponent. Connor sparred with Vivi who seemed more than pleased to keep knocking him on his rear for the entire practice. Seriously, he was pretty sure he was going to have a permanent bruise there.

After that, they had rock climbing. Neither brother got more than two feet up for the first ten minutes which is how long it took the potion to finally wear off. Sufficiently angry, they chased after the girl on the rock wall who simply gave them that evil little smile and maneuvered dangerously close to the lava, barely avoiding it as she made her way to the top. The pair of them nearly got doused no less than twelve times before finally catching the girl who giggled before twisting out of their grip and jumping _off_ the rock wall. They yelped in surprise (and a little worry) but the girl easily caught hold of the wall mid-fall and offered them both a mocking wave before continuing her way down.

In archery, their bows seemed to be cursed somehow because no matter how hard the pair tried, they couldn't even hit the target at all – and they were pretty good shots! It got to the point where Chiron took their bows away and told them they wouldn't be allowed sweets for a week for goofing off in practice. They tried to tell them it wasn't their fault, that Vivi had done it, but they didn't know how she had and couldn't even offer a mildly logical explanation so Chiron didn't accept the excuse.

In their survival skills class, Vivi rigged up a trap which left the pair of them hanging upside down by one leg each, but they managed to get her back by tricking her into their trap which held her upside down by both legs. She'd given them a glare – not the one from the incident with the pegasi, but a glare nonetheless – before doing a sit-up like maneuver and cutting her legs free. She'd landed rather ungracefully but had gotten up, dusted herself off, and looked at them with an evil grin.

By the time dinner rolled around, the brothers smelled of stink-bomb, had paint in various places on their body, had black scribbly marks on their faces (nothing distinct because they'd struggled as best they could), had feathers in their hair, sparkled when the light hit them a certain way because of glitter, and were two outfits down (the first ones because of paint and the second due to glue, feathers, and glitter).

All in all, the worst day they'd had since coming to camp. But they would have their revenge. Like Vivi had said: this meant war. Good thing prank wars fit right into the brother's bag of tricks.


	11. Thalia's Tree

**What Makes a Hero**

_Thalia's Tree_

The prank war was called to a halt just days after it started by Scott who felt that it might be causing animosity between the brothers and Vivi which could be bad for their team in Capture the Flag on Friday. They were told their activities could resume after the game, but they were not to do anything else until then. The trio begrudgingly accepted (but they teamed up and put pink hair dye in his shampoo as retaliation) and called a temporary truce.

The day of Capture the Flag started out perfectly normal: they had breakfast (which Vivi was very nearly late for) then did a few morning activities until lunch then they had some free time. The seven year old found herself sitting on the giant pine tree on the hill, her Greek Potions book in her lap. It was nice and peaceful up there. She could see the whole camp and no one seemed to come up here so she wouldn't be disturbed.

Apparently she was wrong on that last account: Annabeth showed up at the tree when Vivi was just about to start the next chapter. The brunette looked up at the blonde with a puzzled expression. Said blonde looked back at her somewhere between irate and surprised. "What are you doing here?" she asked in a snooty tone.

Vivi was used to dealing with snooty people so she didn't let the tone bother her. Instead, she offered a smile that wasn't apologetic but wasn't sarcastic either, and answered, "I'm sorry, did you want me to leave?"

Annabeth looked startled at the question, but nodded. "Yes," she answered.

"Oh well sorry, but I have no intention of going anywhere," the brunette answered with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "I'm rather comfortable here and it's so very peaceful. You can join me if you want though." She gestured to a place near her.

The blonde's eyes flashed. "No! I want you to leave! And stop leaning against Thalia's Tree like that! It's rude!"

"Since when is it rude to lean against a tree?" the brunette demanded, getting angry herself now. "And who's this Thalia anyway?" The name didn't sound Greek or godly so it couldn't be some minor god. At least, she didn't think it could.

"Hasn't anyone told you the story of that tree yet?" she demanded, looking like she was about to explode with anger.

"No. Why, is it important?"

"Of course it's important! That tree protects us from the monsters! It's the source of the barrier!"

Vivi blinked in surprise and sat up a bit, wondering if it was wise to offend the tree. Wait, could you even offend a tree? Dryads don't count. "It is?"

Annabeth huffed and crossed her arms, looking a little less angry. "Yes. I guess I can't be mad at you since you didn't know." She walked over and sat beside the tree but not against it. The blonde seemed to think over something for a moment before speaking again. "Do you know who the Big Three are?"

"They're the three eldest gods, right? Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon."

"Right. And I'm sure you also know that after the war with the Titans, they took over the world from their father, Kronos, and drew lots to decide who got what."

"Yeah… Zeus got the sky, Poseidon the sea, and Hades the Underworld."

"Exactly."

"Annabeth? Can I ask you a question?"

"You already have, but feel free to ask another one."

"I couldn't help but notice… well if Hades is one of the Big Three, one of the most powerful gods, how come he doesn't have a cabin when Hera and Artemis get honorary cabins?"

Annabeth's eyes narrowed dangerously. "If Hades had a cabin here… well I won't tell you any specifics because they may frighten you. Just know that it wouldn't be at all pleasant." Vivi did her best to keep her face from showing the disappointment and pain those words brought her. It seemed her dad was right, the other campers were against children of Hades. "He doesn't have a throne on Olympus either, just so you know. He just does his own thing down in the Underworld."

"Doesn't that seem unfair to you? I mean, he is one of the most famous and most powerful gods, doesn't he deserve—"

"_No_," Annabeth cut in harshly. "He doesn't. You don't know much about Greek mythology yet I hear, but I promise you that Hades is not a good guy. You'll eventually learn that for yourself."

It got a lot harder to conceal the pained feelings bubbling in the girl's chest.

"As I was saying: sixty years ago, Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon made a pact, just after World War II – which, by the way, was actually fought between children of Zeus and Poseidon against children of Hades – that they wouldn't sire any more heroes. Their children were just too powerful. They were effecting the course of human events too much, causing too much carnage." Annabeth seemed to consider something for a second before she leaned in close and whispered, "And then there was some kind of prophecy. I don't know much about it, but from what Chiron told me it has some pretty bad implications for the future."

_Pretty bad is an understatement,_ Vivi thought but didn't say. She wasn't supposed to know about the prophecy or any of this.

"They swore on the River Styx." Annabeth pursed her lips then sighed. "About thirteen years ago, Zeus fell off the wagon. There was this TV scarlet with a big fluffy eighties hairdo and Zeus… well I guess he just couldn't help himself. When their child was born, a little girl named Thalia… well the River Styx is serious about promises. Zeus himself got off easy because he's immortal but he brought a terrible fate on his daughter."

Vivi's stomach did a funny thing in her stomach and she wondered if the same terrible fate of Thalia would fall on her. After all, she was in the same boat as this girl had been, right? "But-but that's not fair," she murmured. "Thalia didn't break a promise, she didn't do anything!"

"Vivi…" Annabeth sighed, like she was reluctantly accepting a horrible fact. "Children of the Big Three have powers greater than other half-bloods. They have a strong aura, a scent that attracts monsters. When Hades found out about Thalia… well he wasn't too happy about Zeus breaking his oath. He let the worst monsters out of Tartarus to torment Thalia. A satyr was assigned to be her keeper when she was twelve, but there was nothing he could do. He tried to escort her here with a couple of other halfbloods she'd befriended. They almost made it. They got all the way here, to the top of the hill." Annabeth placed a hand reverently on the tree bark. "All three Kindly Ones were after them, along with a hoard of hellhounds. They were about to be overrun when Thalia told the satyr to take the other two halfbloods to safety while she held off the monsters. None of them wanted to leave her but…" Wait, was Annabeth… was she _crying_? Sure it was a sad story, but… "They couldn't change her mind so the satyr and the halfbloods left her. This spot is where Thalia made her last stand. Alone, at the top of this hill. As she died, Zeus took pity on her and turned her into the pine tree. Her spirit still helps protect the borders of the valley. That's why this place is called Half Blood Hill."

_This… this is the tree… the one from my dreams…_

"Wow, that's some story," Vivi murmured, feeling a strange kinship with a tree of all things. She also felt no small amount of admiration. It had to take a lot of daring and nerve and courage to stand up here against an army of monsters… and the power she must have had in order to succeed, even for a little while… The girl hoped she would be that strong one day. She placed a hand on the pine tree, feeling the life pulsing just beneath the surface of the bark.

"Now do you see why I don't like Hades? Why I don't think he should have a cabin or a throne?"

"No, I don't," Vivi answered, her anger from earlier resurfacing. She turned sharply to look at the girl. "Are you seriously going to tell me that Zeus hasn't done something just as awful? Or Hera? Or Poseidon? Or _Athena_? They've all done horrible things to mortals, Annabeth. You can't judge one for something like this unless you're willing to judge all of them. What Hades did to Thalia is wrong, but to say the other gods haven't done worse is a lie and you know it." The girl snatched up her book and stood, putting a hand on Thalia's Tree again. "Thank you for your inspiring story," she murmured to it before stepping back and striding purposefully down the hill, leaving Annabeth to fume behind her.


	12. Capture the Flag

**What Makes a Hero**

_Capture the Flag_

Annabeth kept giving her dirty looks when they gathered for dinner, but Vivi ignored them. It wasn't even hard – Dora, Andy, Cissy, Draco, and Lucius were all _way_ better at dirty looks than she was. A part of the brunette wished Hermes and Athena hadn't teamed up for the game, but she figured it wasn't right to be petty. Well, not with someone who she was likely going to be dealing with for a long time anyway. (Her dad _did_ say something about the dreams meaning their strings of fate crossing or something. Or was that Chiron?)

Either way, chances were she was going to be seeing a lot more of Annabeth before this 'Great Prophecy' business was through so she might as well play nice. Besides, the blonde might turn out to be a good friend to have. That was why, no matter how many looks Annabeth cast her way, she pretended not to notice.

Vivi wasn't let in on their team's strategy which kind of irked her. Instead, she was told to stand near the flag, but not within ten feet of it as that was against the rules, and guard it. She sat with her cabin as the teams were announced: Athena with Apollo, Hermes, and Dionysus against Ares with Demeter, Aphrodite, and Hephaestus. After the teams were announced, Chiron stamped his hoof on the marble. "Heroes! You know the rules! The creek is the boundary line. The entire forest is fair game. All magic items are allowed. The banner must be prominently displayed, and have no more than two guards. Prisoners may be disarmed but may not be bound or gagged. No killing or maiming is allowed. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. Arm yourselves!" Then he spread his arms and the tables were suddenly covered with equipment.

Luke and Lou Ellen helped Vivi with her armor. All the equipment was much too heavy for the girl's liking, but she didn't complain. If Annabeth could take it then so could she!

"Blue team forward!" one of the Athenian boys shouted, leading the group toward the woods. Vivi followed after like an obedient little lamb.

Scott actually bodily moved her to where they wanted her to stand, giving her dirty looks and muttering under his breath about bratty kids and pink hair dye. It had only been a temporary dye, there was no reason he had to be so whiny about it!

Anyway, basically all she did for the first fifteen minutes of the game was stand there feeling like an idiot. She glanced over at her guard-partner, Mr. Rainbows as it turned out, and was about to ask if he felt as ridiculous as she did when she saw movement in the forest. She drew her bow and knocked an arrow causing Mr. Rainbows to jump to attention and draw his sword. She let an arrow fly at the next sign of movement, but whatever was hiding was much too fast. Instead, the arrow simply embedded itself into a nearby tree which caused a dryad to pop out and yell at her.

The yelling was completely ignored in favor of the frightened yelp that came from Mr. Rainbows. If it hadn't been for his shiny, polished shield, she would have been down for the count. Maybe for life. As it was, she _did_ see the reflection of the big, bulky guy coming up behind her in just enough time to duck out of his way. The son of Ares and his posse all laughed at her when she fell in a rather undignified sprawl on the ground. She glared at them and dropped the bow, seeing as it would be useless in close-quarters combat. She drew her sword and scrambled to her feet. The leader laughed at her and stabbed with his spear, but Vivi easily blocked the strike.

Turns out, that wasn't such a great idea. Apparently Ares had a thing for electricity because that's what came through the end of the spear, surging through her shield to create this weird tingly feeling in her arm. It felt like the circulation had been cut off, like she'd been lying on her arm for much too long.

Deciding it was useless to hang on to the shield, she quickly shoved it off her arm which still didn't want to respond while the group laughed at her. Jerks. She narrowed her eyes, anger beginning to flood through her veins. How dare they laugh at her!

"Like it?" the leader asked in a voice that was far too deep and husky and mean as he presented the spear like it was a trophy. "A gift from my dad. He only gives them to the _best_ of his children."

"Really? I'd think the best wouldn't need such a petty trick to win their fights," Vivi shot back.

The boy's eyes flashed. "I was going to just give you a bit of hazing as an initiation to camp, but now… now I think I'll kill you!"

He lunged and Vivi dodged, a little less gracefully than she wanted to. "Isn't killing against the rules?"

"Oh no, I won't be able to have s'mores at the camp fire! Whatever will I do?" he cried mockingly. He stabbed with his spear and she dodged only to have his foot collide with the front of her armor, sending her sprawling again while everyone laughed except Mr. Rainbows who was shouting at him to stop only to get knocked out by one of his buddies. The Ares leader pulled his spear back and shot it down at her. The girl squeezed her eyes shut, trying to roll out of the way but finding that it was far harder to do that in armor.

When she opened her eyes to see why the boy hadn't killed her yet, she was stunned to find herself several feet away from the boys who looked flabbergasted at the loss of their prey. A high pitched girl's shriek sounded not a second later and she looked up to find a group of startled girls who looked rather pretty – she guessed they were pretty anyway, as a seven year old girl she definitely wasn't the authority – whom she easily identified as Aphrodite's children.

Apparently their plan had been to distract the guards with the Ares group who were taking a frontal approach while a smaller, stealthier group came up from behind and stole the flag from under their noses. A clever plan, but it wasn't going to work.

Before the tougher, meaner campers could arrive to save their comrades, she lunged at the girls, knocking them out quickly and easily. "You think you've won, do you punk?" the leader snarled as he ran toward her. "I don't know how you did that disappearing act of yours, but don't think it's about to save you again!"

_I know how I did the disappearing act,_ Vivi suddenly realized. She could feel the instinctual power she'd used and was pretty sure she could do it again. If only the boys would come a little closer to that shadow… Now!

She vanished from her spot and reappeared in the shadow of the rocks the flag was perched on (apparently it was called Zeus's Fist, but it didn't really look like a fist to her). She lunged at the group from behind, hitting the pair in the rear's helmets with her sword hard enough that the ringing – if not the force – made them crumple to the ground. A third threw a punch at her and she ducked down to tackle his legs and use his momentum to flip him over her shoulder – he landed on one of the others with a loud _clang_ and a pair of groans – then brought her sword up to hit the fourth's wrist in the way Luke had shown her to disarm an opponent. His sword flew from his hand and hit the rocks with a clang.

She felt amazing! Everything was so clear, like it was in hyper focus! Things seemed to slow down and power surged through her veins, making her feel like she could do anything.

The leader snarled something indiscernible and thrust the electric spear at her, but she only sidestepped and brought her arms up, one over it and one under, to break the shaft and render it useless. Then she ran toward the shadows because the boy was now screaming obscenities and chasing her, his friend not far behind. Once she reached the shadows, it was child's play to vanish herself around the clearing in order to escape the wrath of the sons of Ares.

Cheers sounded in the distance and a conch horn blew, signaling the end of the game, but the Ares boys didn't seem to care. Deciding it would be much better for her health if she escaped to somewhere with adult supervision, she turned tail and ran as fast as she could toward the border. "GET BACK HERE YOU DAMNED BRAT!"

She tripped on her way downhill and tumbled the rest of the way, landing in the water with a splash. She spluttered the water from her lungs and let out a cry of relief when she saw that her rescuer was Luke who was standing next to Annabeth and Chiron. "Why do you seem like—" Luke began.

"I SAID GET BACK HERE SO I CAN KILL YOU!"

"Oh, that's why," he mused, looking like he was trying not to laugh.

"What did you do?" Annabeth demanded as the other girl ducked behind the centaur for protection. The Ares boy would be here any minute and that wasn't a good thing.

"I may have broken his spear…"

"That's all?"

"After taking down three of them and disarming a forth…"

"Really? You did all that yourself? Where—"

"WHERE IS SHE?" the Ares boy screamed as he ran into the clearing.

"Now now, it was only a game," Chiron consoled the boy. "There's nothing to get so worked up about."

"SHE BROKE MY SPEAR!" he screamed.

"I'm sure you can get a new spear, Kevin."

"Dad gave me that spear!"

"I'm very sorry that your spear is broken, but do I need to remind you of all the gifts from godly parents _you_ have broken over the years? I understand you're upset, but this is going much too far."

The Ares boy, Kevin, huffed angrily and glared at the girl who was still hiding behind Chiron. "Fine." He marched over and past them, but as he got close to the girl, he muttered, "I'll get you back for this, punk."

Vivi waited until he was out of earshot before straightening. "Chiron, Mr— I mean, the other guard from Hermes might need medical attention. I knocked out some Aphrodite girls and a couple of Ares kids too but I don't think they're hurt _that_ bad, but still…"

"I'll get right on that." Then he cantered off into the forest.

**A/N: Again with forgetting to update. Sorry! I've been so busy lately that I just forget to put the chapter up. In the future, if a Wednesday passes without an update, feel free to leave a review or PM me and I'll probably put the chapter up then (provided I'm not about to rush off to work or class). Anyway, here are two more chapters; one as-scheduled and the other as an apology for missing last week's update.**

**Oh and I've already decided I'm going to go in depth with both the __****Percy Jackson and the Olympians**** series and **_**Harry Potter**_**. What I want to know is if you all think it would be better to publish them in two separate stories (one for **_**PJ**_** and another for **_**HP**_**) or keep them all in one long story. Or maybe if I should do Year One/Lightning Thief in one story then Year Two/Sea of Monsters in a second and so on. Just leave an answer in a review or PM me if you have an opinion.**


	13. Malfoy Manor

**A/N: Just to give you a quick heads up, THERE IS A TIME SKIP between this chapter and the last one. In "Capture the Flag" Vivi was seven, but in "Malfoy Manor" it's her eleventh birthday. I didn't want to write four years' worth of drabbles to lead up to her Hogwarts years so I'm just skipping ahead. Just thought I'd clear that up.**

**To anyone who is interested in the OCs that were introduced in previous chapters, there may be flashbacks periodically or they may simply be mentioned off-handedly (but those probably won't come in until I get to the _PJatO_ chapters). Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

**What Makes a Hero**

_Malfoy Manor_

Vulpecula Black was not overly pleased with her plans for the day. Normally, she would be excited about a trip to Diagon Alley – especially this trip. Nearly everything had aligned perfectly to make this the best shopping trip since her very first one: it was her eleventh birthday, she would finally be getting her wand, her first year at Hogwarts was on the horizon, and she would likely get to spend an extra few minutes in Flourish and Blotts to get her school books.

What could possibly be the problem with this day you ask? That would be the fact that she wasn't being taken by Andromeda, Ted, and/or Dora. Oh no, she was to be escorted to Diagon Alley by her _other_ cousins: Lucius, Narcissa, and Draco. Why? Well because Lucius had pulled a bunch of strings within the Department of Magical Law Enforcement (ie, Wizarding Lawyers) in order to have shared custody of Vivi. So while she lived with Andromeda, there were scheduled times which she had to spend with Narcissa and her family – not an every other weekend sort of deal, but she had to spend time during the holidays with them. Because of this shared custody arrangement, Lucius was able to make the case with Andromeda that it was only logical that _they_ take her to Diagon Alley because she didn't actually need anything from there, Dora was already out of school, and there was no point in a wasted trip now was there?

Vivi understood that there had also been a thinly veiled threat about reporting Andromeda to the DMLE for not complying with their orders which could very well earn the Malfoys _full_ custody of the Girl Who Lived.

So Andromeda had caved and now Vivi was expected to go to Diagon Alley with the Malfoy family. It's not that she didn't like them – they were pleasant enough people, half the time – she just hated that they spent ninety percent of her time with them stuffing her head full of pureblood-mania. She didn't believe in any of it – Ted was a perfectly smart and nice man who had done his best to help Andromeda raise her, and what was wrong with that?

The halfblood sighed as she forced herself to get up even though she didn't want to. It was nearly ten – a far better time to awaken than the seven o'clock wakeup call back at camp – which meant she would be leaving for Malfoy manner in just under half an hour. She sighed and walked over to her closet, rifling through it in search of what she would wear that day. She examined her choices, lips pursed.

It was likely in her best interests to not pick any color that favored a Hogwarts House – unless that House was Slytherin. She examined her choices: nope, nothing green. Crap, that was the most sure-fire choice. She sighed quietly and examined her choices. She had several camp T-shirts but she didn't think the Malfoys would understand nor like the message 'Camp Half Blood' presented, so those were _way_ out. She had a few blue shirts, a couple red, some yellow… Ah yes, something simple would do the trick nicely.

She grabbed a white button up and a black skirt along with some undergarments before leaving her room and heading for the bathroom. She took a quick shower, washing up so she smelled like fresh strawberries – a scent that reminded her of Camp Half Blood's strawberry fields and made her feel a little homesick for her home away from home. She toweled herself off and dressed, tucking her white shirt into her skirt and rolling up the sleeves because it was simply too hot out for long sleeves. She pulled open the bathroom door and grabbed the brush. She knew that any minute Andromeda would come to dry and style her hair so she didn't look like a 'hooligan'. Sure enough, just as she was brushing out the last of the knots her bedhead created, the woman appeared.

Andromeda clicked her tongue and waved her wand, drying the girl's hair immediately. Then she snatched up the brush and re-brushed the child's hair before pulling it into a high ponytail, the locks too short to be pulled up falling to frame the girl's face. "There, now go finish getting ready."

"Yes ma'am," the girl answered, hurrying off to her room. She easily found her black gladiator sandals and pulled them on. Then she grabbed her black watch – which could turn into a stygian iron shield. After that, she walked over to the mirror in her room and gave herself a quick once over before deciding she looked perfectly presentable. She then grabbed her black summer robe and pulled it on before sticking her bronze pocket flashlight (a sword in disguise) in her robe's inner pocket and striding from her room. When she reached the living room, Vivi was ushered off to the fireplace so she could Floo to Malfoy Manor.

Flooing was, quite honestly, Vivi's favorite means of travel, subway train rides being a fairly close second. That was why she was grinning when she stepped out of the fireplace at her destination. The Malfoys, of course, assumed she was just extremely happy to see them because life at the Tonks' must be so awful. Narcissa flicked her wand to get rid of the soot and cooed about what a beautiful young woman she was growing up to be.

"Come along now, the house elves are just putting brunch on the table. Fresh fruit and French toast."

"It sounds delicious, Cissy." She didn't call her aunt because Narcissa wasn't her aunt. One might argue that Andromeda wasn't either, but the elder woman needed some kind of special designation as the woman who raised her – plus Aunt Cissy just sounds _weird_. So does Uncle Lucius for that matter.

"Lucius and Draco are already in the dining room."

The girl nodded her head and gave her cousin a polite smile as she followed the woman to the dining room which was way too big for a family of three plus one. Not that anyone else seemed to care. Vivi was used to much smaller dining arrangements – the Tonks family had a four-person dining table and the Hermes table back at camp was always way overcrowded – but she politely kept her mouth shut on the subject and took the seat she was instructed to next to Draco. "Lucius," she greeted cordially before sitting, "Draco."

"Vivi," Lucius greeted in return with a small inclination of his head.

"How are things going in that filthy muggle's house with the blood traitor and their daughter?" Draco asked snidely.

"It would be far simpler and much more polite to say 'how are things going at home'," she informed the boy with a serious frown. "In answer to your question, things are going perfectly well, just as they always are."

"I don't see how you can stand it over there. If it were me, I'd probably have hexed them all by now!"

"I can't see how you'd manage such a thing given that you have neither a wand nor the training required to use one," Vivi answered, eyes narrowed slightly. "Now can you please save your annoying little rant until _after_ we've eaten? It's rather spoiling my appetite."

"Your cousin is right, Draco," Narcissa announced. "There are far more pleasant topics to be discussed over our meal. Andromeda tells me you've been spending time with your father."

It took all of Vivi's self-control not to visibly tense at the subject change. She took a bite of her French toast and chewed it slowly so that her voice would come out calm and even when she spoke. "I have."

Draco snarled up his nose. "I heard he was filthy muggle trash just like—"

"My father is _not_ a muggle," she snapped a little more harshly than she'd meant to. While she didn't have anything against muggles, to call her father one couldn't be anything but an insult. "The simple fact that you know nothing about American wizarding families is no reason to use such an insulting tone when speaking of my father."

"My apologies," Draco responded though he didn't sound as if he meant it.

_If only he knew who it was he was insulting._

"What's your father's name?" Lucius asked.

Vivi was very glad she'd taken a bite that was a bit too large. "It's a bit of an odd name…" She tried when she swallowed her food and no longer had a reason to hold off answering.

"Come now, I doubt it's all that bad," Lucius coaxed, his eyes glinting with a dangerous light. He thought she was lying! That little—

It didn't cross her mind that she kind of _was_ lying. "His name is Hades," she informed him with a tone of finality. _Last name, last name, last name,_ she thought desperately. The second a name that would pass for a surname popped into her head, she all but blurted it out. "Hades Plutus."

"Hades is Greek, is it not? And Plutus… Latin perhaps?"

"America is a country of immigrants, Lucius," she responded in a school-teacher tone.

"I suppose that is true," he answered, though he didn't look like he really accepted her response. "Very well, what is it you _do_ at your father's house?"

"I never said that I spent time at my father's house," she responded in a chiding tone.

Lucius lifted an eyebrow. "Then where, pray tell, do you spend time with him?"

"There's a summer camp in New York that he helps with," she responded. _Liar, liar, pants on fire._ "Mostly American children of varying ages, nearly all of which have already started their magical schooling. We learn History and Defense Against the Dark Arts and such, but nothing practical of course – International Statute of Secrecy and what not. It's a rather unconventional place by British standards – mostly halfblood campers, dryads and naiads and satyrs running around, and there's even a centaur for a counselor."

"You're _kidding_," Draco scoffed. "A centaur _teaches_ you?"

"He doesn't really _teach_ anything. He just makes sure people follow the rules and referees Capture the Flag and keeps everything organized." Her tone waved Chiron off as if he were too insignificant to get angry over, like all he did was grunt work. She felt really bad about it, but she figured it was for the best. If the Malfoys knew all about Camp Halfblood… She shuddered to think of what could happen.

"What does your father do at this camp?"

"He teaches History and some Monster classes."

"Monster classes?"

"You know, what to do if you see a Cyclops, how to differentiate between a werewolf and a regular wolf, that kind of thing." She waved her hand in dismissal and continued to eat her French toast which was actually really good. She'd have to tell whichever house elf made it that (s)he'd done a great job.

"If it weren't for all the halfbreeds and the mostly halfblood population, I would almost think it would be a nice place for Draco to go."

"I doubt he would like it," she answered casually as she finished off her food. "_I_ probably wouldn't want to go if it wasn't for the fact that my father's there."

"I suppose it _is_ nice for you to get to know him," Narcissa announced with a slightly pinched smile. "Now come along, it's time to head off." She stood and began ushering the two eleven year olds toward the living room fireplace, her husband following behind them with his imperialistic walk.

As she stood before the fireplace, awaiting her turn to Floo to the Leaky Cauldron, Vivi wondered over when she'd become such a good liar.


	14. Diagon Alley

**What Makes a Hero**

_Diagon Alley_

Vivi did her best not to giggle like an idiot when she stepped through the fireplace into the little pub that bordered Diagon Alley. Narcissa chuckled quietly at her, no doubt mistaking her cheerfulness as a result of her first official school shopping trip. She flicked her wand and the soot magically cleaned itself off as the girl stepped out of the way so Draco and Lucius could come through behind her. Once everyone was through and cleaned of soot, the children were ushered through the pub and out the back door. Whispering had already started up and a few people had looked like they were contemplating walking up to them because they wanted to meet _the Girl Who Lived_.

For once, Vivi was glad of the intimidation factor that accompanied the Malfoy family wherever they went. Honestly, it was such a pain being swarmed by countless fans who were obsessed with her all because of something she couldn't even remember.

Narcissa tapped the proper brick and the entryway to Diagon Alley appeared before them. They walked through, none of them overly impressed with the display – they'd all seen it a million times by now. "Gringotts first," the mother announced. "Then you two can get fitted for your robes while Lucius and I go and get your books."

Vivi did her best not to groan. No trip to Flourish and Blotts? This trip was going to suck!

Soon the group was climbing the marble steps of the wizarding bank and approaching the entrance. The girl's stomach twisted in a funny way when she read the engraving on the door, just as it always did:

"_Enter stranger, but take heed  
Of what awaits the sin of greed,  
For those who take but do not earn,  
Must pay most dearly in their turn.  
So if you seek beneath our floors  
A treasure that was never yours,  
Thief, you have been warned, beware  
Of finding more than treasure there."_

They walked into the bank, making their way to the first free goblin in the line. "We are here to visit the Malfoy vault," he announced imperiously. "And the Black vault for Vulpecula here."

The goblin eyed the blonde man and then his wife and then the children standing between them. "I will require your wand, Mr. Malfoy."

The man held it out sourly, already well aware of the drill. "Just get on with it," he snapped.

For the entire time that the goblin had his wand, Lucius glared at him as if the goblin were a speck of dirt on his new shoes. "There you are, Mr. Malfoy." The goblin returned the wand and Vivi would swear he'd held it an extra few seconds just to piss the wizard off. "Now does Miss Black have her key?"

"Yes sir," she chirped on reflex. The Malfoys all gave her sharp looks but she elected to ignore them in favor of handing the goblin the key.

He merely gave it a quick once over. "Griphook!" he called. Another goblin came over to the quickly. The goblin behind the desk handed him the key. "Please show the Malfoys and Miss Black to their respective vaults. Oh and Miss Black? Remember that once you've received your wand you must bring it here for our records."

"I understand," she told the goblin with a slight nod of her head before following after Griphook. She didn't call him 'sir' again because she didn't want to listen to a goblin-hating lecture later. Pureblood mania lectures were bad enough.

The goblin gathered them all into a cart and they took off down the tracks. Vivi grinned happily at the speed and the twists and turns, it felt like a muggle rollercoaster and she'd always wanted to ride one of those. They arrived at the Black inheritance vault first – the Black Family vault was much further down, but Vivi wouldn't be allowed access to it until she was seventeen. Until then, a portion of her inheritance had been moved to the secondary vault on one of the higher levels.

After she got out what she figured were sufficient funds, Griphook took them much deeper into the bank's bowels to the Malfoy vault. Draco, Narcissa, and Vivi stayed behind while Lucius and the goblin went over to the vault and the patriarch collected what he felt they would need. After they returned, the cart set off to bring them back to the surface. On their way out, Griphook murmured, "That is a wonderful metal you're wearing, so rare. A gift from your father, perhaps?"

She looked over at him to see his eyes flashing mischievously. "Yes it was. Commissioned work with American goblins."

"I heard of it from my great uncle, one of the goblins who worked on it. He was rather giddy over the prospect. It serves you well?"

"Of course," she answered a small smile. "Give your uncle my thanks." Griphook bobbed his head and the girl walked out.

"You're thanking _goblins_ now?" Draco hissed.

"First off, they can still hear you, Draco. Second, it's always wise to thank those who have done a service for you. You never know when you'll need their help again. Besides, it's a really nice watch." She rolled her wrist to check the time and smiled at the golden ouroboros that circled the clock face and the circle within the bisected triangle that was emblazoned in gold in the center of it.

"What metal was the goblin speaking of?"

"Stygian iron," she answered with a shrug. "It's very rare and very hard to work with."

"Hm" was Lucius's response.

After that the two eleven year olds were dropped off at Madame Malkin's to get fitted for their school robes. "So what's this camp your father teaches at called anyway?" Draco asked after a while.

Vivi restrained a sigh and answered honestly, "Camp Halfblood." Draco responded with a cruel sneer so the girl decided to add on a bit, embellishing the story to fit what he would expect to hear. "It's named for Halfblood Hill which stands at its border. Halfblood Hill is the place where a halfblood faced off against an army of monsters on her own. She was surrounded on all sides but she didn't back down, she fought to her last breath. Then, as she was about to die, the God of the Skies took pity on her and transformed her into a pine tree which would emit a protective border around the valley so that even in death she could protect it."

Draco snorted. "A ridiculous story. That witch would have been a Gryffindor no doubt! Of course, gods don't exist so the rest of the story is moot."

"Come on, Draco. We live in a world of magic where everything is possible. We know that gorgons and pegasi and all the monsters from those stories are all real, so why can't you believe that the gods are too?"

"They would have shown themselves to us by now."

"Maybe they have," she answered with a grin. "And we were just too stubborn to believe the proof before our eyes."

"We're not _muggles_."

"No, but you don't have to be a muggle to misinterpret the truth. Of course, whoever they were revealed to might have understood and told, but no one would believe them. I mean, if I were to tell you that I met a god and he threatened to turn me into a dolphin, would you believe me?"

"Why would he threaten to turn you into a dolphin?"

The girl shrugged. "Maybe he likes dolphins."

Draco scoffed. "That's just ridiculous."

"Thank you for proving my point."

"Huh?"

"If you don't want to believe that the gods are real and you don't want to believe that one might threaten to turn me into a dolphin, then you won't believe it. Simple as that. That's why muggles haven't discovered the Wizarding World by now, because they just don't _want_ to accept the truth. Maybe witches and wizards are just as guilty of ignoring the gods."

Draco pursed his lips and gave her a dirty look, but he didn't say anything else. Rather, he seemed to be digesting this idea, turning it over in his head and looking for loopholes or faults in the logic. If he found any, he didn't share them. Instead, their measurements were taken in silence until, "Do you think I could get Mum and Dad to consider buying me a broom?"

The girl snorted. "Cissy and Lucius? I doubt you'd have to do more than ask. They're not exactly sticklers for the rules you know. Of course, you wouldn't be able to carry it to school – they wouldn't want the whispers siring a child who gets caught breaking the rules causes, now would they?"

"What if I don't get caught?"

"The only way not to get caught is to not fly the broom which kind of eliminates the purpose of taking the broom in the first place, doesn't it?"

"I suppose. I still want to look at them though."

"Of course you do. They're _broomsticks_." She grinned at her cousin. "I hear the Nimbus Two Thousand is due to come out this week. I wonder how much it's improved since the last model."

And off Draco went, telling her all of the statistics and everything he'd heard about the newest Nimbus racing broom. He did a running commentary of comparing the new broom to various other models, proudly proclaiming that it had to be the best of the lot. Vivi chimed in from time to time, speculating on which professional Quidditch players would upgrade to the Nimbus this year which got them talking about the upcoming Quidditch season. It was times like this that she felt a comfortable sort of camaraderie with her cousin. When they weren't talking about race or blood status, time spent with the Malfoys could actually be pleasant.

The only other noteworthy occurrence during their shopping trip was their last stop: Ollivanders. Draco went first and it took a while, but eventually he found his wand: Hawthorn and unicorn hair, ten inches, reasonably springy.

After that, it was Vivi's turn. She went through what felt like every wand in the entire shop with varying results. Some felt a little warm, some seemed to zap her with electricity, some made her fingers tingle in strange ways, but most did absolutely nothing. All were snatched before she even managed half a wave. All this only seemed to excite the strange old man. "Tricky customer, eh? Not to worry, we'll find the perfect match here somewhere – I wonder now – yes, why not – ebony and phoenix feather, ten and three quarter inches, hard."

Vivi fought a sigh and took hold of what felt like the millionth wand. The girl's eyes widened and she almost jumped when a sudden warmth spread through her fingers and even up her arm. Slowly, she lifted the wand from the box and examined it. The wand was jet black with a thick grip and the end was a little crooked, but the surface appeared smooth and polished. Then she lifted the wand above her head and brought it swishing down through the dusty air. A stream of black and purple sparks shot from the end like a firework, throwing dancing spots of light onto the walls.

Mr. Ollivander cried, "Oh, bravo! Yes, indeed. Oh very good! Well, well, well… how curious… how very curious…" He took the wand and put it back in its box before wrapping it in paper, still muttering, "curious… curious…"

Unable to take it any longer, she asked, "What's curious?"

The man fixed her with a pale stare. "I remember every wand I've ever sold, Miss Black. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand gave another feather, only one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother – why, its brother gave you that scar." Vivi felt like she'd been struck by lightning. She jerked ever so slightly in surprise and tensed her arms to keep herself from touching her scar. "Yes, thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember… I think we must expect great things from you, Miss Black… After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things – terrible, yes, but great."

Vivi took her boxed up wand, paid the seven galleons for it, and followed the Malfoys out of the shop. They were all giving her odd looks now. They seemed so calculating, clearly wondering just what she would do later in life, who she would be. In that moment, Vulpecula Black resolved to become the best witch of the Light in centuries. She would be a hero worthy of the title.


	15. Harry Potter

**What Makes a Hero**

_Harry Potter_

Thankfully, Andromeda and Dora got to escort her to Platform Nine and Three Quarters. Ted would have come too, as he had for Dora's school years, but he got called into work. He'd said his goodbyes before he left and given her a tight hug. Vivi wasn't upset about the man's absence because she understood, but she still kind of wished he was there too.

Dora pushed the trolley with the girl's school trunk in it, but Vivi carried the caged Poplar. She was dressed in much the same way as she had been for her trip to Diagon Alley except her shirt was purple instead of white. When the three girls passed through the barrier, they journeyed along the side of the train in search of a compartment with room for her. "Harry!" the little girl exclaimed suddenly, waving one arm wildly in an effort to greet her friend.

"Vivi!" the brunette boy called when he saw her. James and Lily glanced over at her and offered smiles, but they were too preoccupied with consoling their younger son, Johnny, who really wanted to go to Hogwarts with his big brother.

"You have to wait another two years, kiddo," James was saying. "You're not old enough yet."

Harry ran over to her and grinned. "Are you as excited as I am?"

The girl grinned back. "You bet! Have you found a compartment yet?"

"Yeah, right over here! Come on!" he grabbed her wrist and dragged her along. Not that he could have if she wasn't letting him. "We're sharing with Ron."

"Ron?" she echoed. She didn't think she was familiar with any Rons.

"Weasley," Harry told her as they reached the compartment.

"Isn't that the family of redheads with freckles? They're purebloods, but Lucius doesn't like them much."

"Well that's because Lucius is a—"

"Harry!" Lily scolded sharply, cutting her son off.

"Yeah Harry," James added. "It doesn't matter how much of a ruddy git he is – ow! Lily that hurt! – you can't go around saying it." The man turned to his wife with a pout. "Why did you have to hit me, Lils? I didn't say anything _that_ bad."

"It's rude to talk about people behind their backs, James. You should _know_ that." The redheaded woman gave him a serious glare that her husband scarcely seemed to notice.

"Andy! Dora!"

"James, Lily," the elder mother greeted with two nods and a smile.

"Yo, how are things going, boss-man? Lily?"

James laughed and grinned at her. "Pretty good! Johnny isn't so thrilled about staying behind, but we'll go out for ice cream later and he'll get over it."

"We're going for ice cream?" the little redheaded boy asked, his eyes seemed to shine with excitement.

"Of course we are!"

Lily sighed. "Men." She shook her head. "So where's Ted?"

"He couldn't get off," Andromeda told the woman as James and her daughter hefted Vivi's trunk from the trolley and stowed it away on the train.

"That's too bad. I'm sure he hates missing this. It's such a big day for them."

The little girl climbed onto the train and sat Poplar's cage in one of the seats before turning to Harry. "So what's this Ron kid like?"

"He's cool. Funny and kind of stubborn. A bit like you really."

"Funny and kind of stubborn isn't a nice description, Harry," she informed him with a scowl.

"I never said it was!" he grinned and laughed at her.

"All right, squirt, the train leaves soon. Come say goodbye!" Dora called, holding her arms out wide for a hug. The girl hurried over to her cousin and hugged her tight. "And make sure to prank Fred and George Weasley for me, will you? They got me good just before I graduated and I never got a chance for payback."

"Sure thing!" Vivi answered with a grin before hurrying over and hugging Andromeda.

"Don't get into too much trouble, Vivi."

"You say that like I go looking for the trouble!" the girl retorted indignantly. "I'll have you know that trouble stalks me, not the other way around!"

The woman laughed and hugged the girl tighter. "I'm going to miss you, kiddo. Make sure you write."

"Love you Andy! You too Dora! Bye guys!"

"Love you too, bye!" they called, waving as the child climbed back into the train, Harry right behind her. A lanky redhead appeared from down the corridor a moment later, just before the train took off.

"Vivi, this is Ron Weasley," Harry announced, clapping the redhead on the shoulder. "Ron, this is Vivi Black."

"Nice to meet you," the girl greeted, dropping into one of the seats and undoing the latch on her owl's cage.

"Uh, you too. So, uh, what house do you think you'll be in?"

"What house do I think I'll be in or what house do I _want_ to be in?"

"Both!" Harry exclaimed, leaning back in his seat with a grin.

"I'll probably wind up in Ravenclaw or Slytherin, all things considered, but I don't think being in Gryffindor or Hufflepuff would be so bad. I think it'll be a lot of fun."

"I want to be in Gryffindor," Ron announced. "It's the house my whole family's been in. It's kind of expected for me to wind up there too."

"Bah, who cares about expectations?" the girl waved his comment off with a flick of her wrist. "I already know that Harry wants and expects to be a Gryffindor so there's no use asking him. What I want to know is what class are you looking forward to most?"

"Defense," they answered in almost perfect unison.

"Ah, you guys are no fun," she grumbled. "I'm looking forward to Potions and Transfiguration."

"Potions? But the teacher for that class is awful! Severus Snape is his name and my brothers told me he favors Slytherin."

"Don't be so mean to Severus," she instructed with a scolding tone, shaking her finger at the redhead. "He's not that bad a guy, but I _do_ hear he favors Slytherin."

"Yeah, that's what I heard too," Harry agreed with a nod. "And Vivi's right, Ron, Severus isn't so bad. Sometimes."

"Wait, you both already know him?"

"Of course," they answered as if it were obvious.

"He's friends with my mum," Harry told the boy. "And he's Johnny's godfather."

"He was friends with my mum too, when she was alive. Plus he's friends with Lucius, but he doesn't stop by there very often so usually when I see him it's at Harry's house." After that, a lull came to the conversation so Vivi clapped her hands together and broached the topic that all wizards (but not all witches) always seemed perfectly happy to talk about: Quidditch. "So what's your Quidditch team, Ron?"

"The Chudley Cannons!" he announced proudly. "You?"

"I actually favor the Fitchburg Finches."

"The Finches? But that's an American team!"

"Well spotted."

"I suppose you like that other game – what's it called? Quodpot? – better than Quidditch too, huh?"

"Quodpot does have some interesting games, but I like Quidditch better."

"What's Quodpot?" a voice asked from the doorway.

All three eleven year olds looked to the door to see a bushy haired girl standing there. "It's an American variation of Quidditch," Vivi told her with a smile. "Instead of having seven players on each team, they have eleven, and there's an extra ball called the Quod that explodes."

"It explodes? Why would you want an exploding ball?"

She shrugged. "I don't know, but it makes things interesting."

The girl bit her lip and seemed to consider something for a moment. Then she asked, "So what's Quidditch?"

"You don't know what Quidditch is?" both boys exclaimed with surprise. The newcomer turned red.

"Ignore them, they're both idiots," Vivi told the girl. "Quidditch is a game played on broomsticks. Each team has three Chasers who try to score with the Quaffle, a Keeper who defends his or her team's goals, two Beaters to aim Bludgers – which, as I'm sure you can guess, try to bludgeon the players – and a Seeker who tries to catch the Snitch. Every time the Quaffle goes through a goal, that's ten points, and capturing the Snitch earns a hundred and fifty points. The game cannot end until the Snitch has been caught."

"That sounds like a rather odd game," the girl announced.

"By muggle standards, yes, but it's the most popular Wizarding sport in the world."

"Really? I'll have to find a book on it once we get to school…" the girl trailed off.

"I'm Vivi, by the way. Vivi Black. And these are—"

"Vivi Black? You wouldn't be Vulpecula Black, would you? The Girl Who Lived?"

The girl in question sighed but nodded. "That's me, but _please_ don't call me _Vulpecula_. Anyway, these are Harry Potter and Ron Weasley."

"It's nice to meet you all," the girl greeted with a smile. "I'm Hermione Granger."

"Well Hermione, would you like to sit and talk? We have room."

"No, I'm actually trying to find a toad for a friend of mine. You haven't seen one, have you?"

"No, sorry."

"Well if you do, let me know. It was nice meeting you, bye." She gave them a wave before vanishing off down the train.

"Oh! It's the Trolley!" Vivi jumped to her feet and made her way to the door. "You guys want anything?"

"Chocolate Frogs! A lot of them!"

"Still haven't found Agrippa, huh?"

"No," the boy grumbled.

"What about you, Ron?" The boy turned pink and shook his head. The girl studied him seriously for a moment before going up to the trolley and buying a wide range of sweets before carrying them back to her cabin. "All right, you guys have to help me finish this."

"Why did you get so much?"

"Because I could," she answered proudly, snatching up a Chocolate Frog. "Dig in!"

**A/N: I posted a day early. Yay! But why? Because I just decided to be nice? Hahahahaha no. Actually, it's because I've decided to be **_**evil. **_**How is posting a chapter a day early evil you ask? Simple: I'm taking the next chapter hostage.**

**But why would I do that?**

**The answer to that is twofold. The first, and most simple, reason is because I'm bored. Like **_**really **_**bored. The second, and more logical reason, is because no one ever leaves good reviews. My solution to both of these problems is to hold the next chapter hostage pending a game! Isn't that fun?**

**The game is fairly simple – when you reach 100 points (or I get bored of this, whichever), I will release the chapter. How do you get points? By reviewing! Here's the scoring chart:**

**Simple, positive review (ie, "update soon" or "great story") = 1 point**

**Expanded, positive review (ie "I like how you gave Harry a brother") = 5 points**

**Thought out, positive review (**_**needs an explanation**_**; ie "I like how you gave Harry a brother because I heard that JK had said Lily was pregnant at the time of her death") = 10 points**

_**Constructive **_**criticism (as long as it isn't outright rude [or subtly rude]) = 10 points**

**Flames (do I really have to explain what these are?) = -10 points**

**Everyone understand the rules? Cool. Have fun playing~**


	16. Hogwarts

**What Makes a Hero**

_Hogwarts_

The rest of the ride on the Hogwarts Express passed with easy conversation between the three first years. Draco came by and griped about her poor choice of company. She told him to go suck a lemon, she would be friends with whoever she wanted to. He acted all indignant and angry and said something about hurting the Black family name. She told him that what she did with the Black family name was none of his business seeing as he didn't carry it and then slammed the door in his face. After he left, she told the boys that she would regret that later – because she probably would – and then left so they could change into their school robes.

Vivi leaned against the wall next to the window with a book open in her lap – a Latin philosophical journal about the downfalls of Greece (she'd finished a similar book that was in Greek about Rome just a few days before and she wanted to hear the other side of the argument). She knew Ron kept giving her funny looks over it, but felt no need to acknowledge them. She was only reading because she'd gotten bored with their topics of conversation (they spent three _hours_ on Quidditch and then moved on to talking about Ron's pet rat – which, by the way, was against the rules to have as only cats, toads, and owls were supposed to be brought).

She was just about to leave the compartment to maybe find Hermione – the other girl seemed nice enough and maybe she would be able to hold an intelligent conversation – when a voice echoed through the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."

Vivi jerked upright and a grin broke out across her face. She jumped up on the seat so she could reach her trunk in the luggage rack and stowed her book away while Ron and Harry crammed the last of the sweets into their pockets. Once the boys were satisfied with the contents of their pockets, the three of them joined the crowd overloading the corridor. It didn't take long for the train to slow to a stop. Once the vehicle was no longer moving, the corridor erupted into chaotic pushing and shoving as everyone struggled to make their way to the nearest door so they could step out onto a tin, dark platform. The air outside was cold so the girl pulled her cloak around her shoulders just a little more tightly.

Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students and she heard a familiar voice calling, "Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, Harry?"

The girl pushed her way over toward the ten foot tall beast of a man, grinning madly. "Hagrid!" she called as she came to a stop next to the green eyed boy.

"Ah, Vivi! Nice ta see ya! Was tha ride here all right?"

"Well the company was a bit boring—"

"Hey!"

"—but other than that it was great!"

The giant of a man smiled and patted her head. Then he turned around and began to lead them away from the crowd. "C'mon! Follow me! Any more firs' years? Mind yer step now! Firs' years follow me!" Vivi snickered at Harry as he slipped and stumbled along the steep, narrow path Hagrid was leading them down, all the while being careful of her footing so she didn't take a nosedive – _that_ wouldn't have been fun. The boy grumbled under his breath about stupid girls showing off and she grinned, happy for her excellent night-vision (courtesy of her father).

Other than Harry's grumbling and Vivi's teasing, the only sounds were sniffles coming from Neville Longbottom – he was a nice enough boy, but way too shy and mopey. Still, he was a friend and she felt bad for not searching him out on the train. She hung back a bit to walk in step with him, pleasantly surprised to find Hermione at his other side.

"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called to them. "Jus' round this bend here."

The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers. It was breathtaking, the kind of sight you read about in books or see in movies but never expect to be real. The way the lights of the night lit the castle, its grounds, and the lakes made it look all the more magical.

The demigod amongst them stopped dead, eyes wide as she stared at the incredible sight before her. There was a collective gasp and a chorus of "oooh"s, but she wasn't overly sure which she partook in if any at all. Her mind had frozen up at the beauty of the castle and all she could think was _I wish I had my camera!_

"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, jarring the girl back to reality. She blinked and examined the line of boats on their end of the lake before starting toward one, motioning for Neville and Hermione to follow. Harry frowned at her, but didn't say anything as he and Ron joined two more boys in a different boat.

"Um, uh… can I…?" a boy with curly brown hair asked, looking uncertain. His eyes darted over to another group of boys, four of them, and then back to the trio in the boat.

"Got voted off the island, huh?" Vivi asked, motioning with her hand for him to join her.

"Huh?" Neville asked, looking completely lost. Hermione gave the pale girl a sharp look which was promptly ignored.

"You're muggleborn too?" Justin asked, looking relieved as he settled himself into the boat. "I'm Justin, by the way. Justin Finch-Fletchley."

"Halfblood," the girl answered. "Vivi Black. These are Neville Longbottom and Hermione Granger."

"Oh so that was a muggle reference?" the pudgy boy asked, seeming unsure whether he should be relieved or upset. But then, he looked like that half the time so who knew? Maybe that was his default state.

"Everyone in? Right then – FORWARD!" Hagrid, who had a boat to himself, called. The little fleet of boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake which was as smooth as glass.

"Yes," Hermione announced. "It's a reference to a muggle television show called Survivor."

Neville looked more lost now. "Television is… well it's sort of like the muggle version of magical portraits except pictures act out a scene in exactly the way they were acting when the 'picture' was taken."

"Why would they do that?" he asked, looking mystified.

"I'll let you watch Ted's sometime so you can see for yourself."

"Okay," the boy agreed, nodding slowly. He seemed satisfied with the answer, but still confused.

Vivi sighed and looked over her shoulder at the castle. "Did you have any idea it would be so incredible?"

"All the descriptions in _Hogwarts: A History_ pale in comparison to seeing it for yourself," Hermione agreed.

"You actually read _Hogwarts: A History_? _All_ of it?" Neville asked, looking amazed.

"Well yes."

"It's not much of an entertaining read," Vivi told him with a shrug, still staring at the castle. "_A Tale of Hogwarts_ by Lily Potter, Harry's mum, is a much better read but it lacks all the historical facts and interesting tidbits you get in _Hogwarts: A History_.

"You read it too?"

"When I was nine I started to get excited about starting Hogwarts – Dora said I was unbearable so she gave me the book so I would stop pestering her with questions."

"Oh man! We haven't even started yet and I'm already behind!" Neville whined.

"I haven't read it either," Justin announced. "I actually hadn't even heard about it until now…"

"Don't worry, that's actually pretty common," Vivi told him, not even glancing at the boy. "Neither of you are behind, Hermione and I are just ahead."

"Heads down!" Hagrid called as their boats reached the cliff Hogwarts stood upon. They all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel which seemed to be carrying them right underneath the castle until they reached a kind of underground harbor where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles.

"Oi! You there! Is this your toad?" he called to Neville.

"Trevor!" the boy cried blissfully, holding out his hands.

Once the creature was returned, they were herded up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle. They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door. "Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?" At the boy's nod, Hagrid lifted a giant fist and knocked three times. The door swung open almost immediately to reveal a tall, black haired witch in emerald green robes. She had a very stern face and Vivi immediately decided that this witch was not one she wanted to cross any time soon. "The firs' years, Professor McGonagall."

"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here." She pulled the door wide enough that they could see inside.

For the second time that day, Vivi could only stare, astounded. The Entrance Hall was so huge you could have fit a house inside it and still had room to move. On the walls hung flaming torches like the ones from Gringotts and the ceiling was so high up even she couldn't see it. And that was saying something! Looking straight in, they could see the flagged stone floors and the elegant marble staircase that stretched upward into the castle. The demigod could hear quiet creaks and groans as the staircases repositioned themselves.

Professor McGonagall led them into the hall and across the floor. Hundreds of voices sounded from a large doorway on the right. Doubtlessly the rest of the school was already gathered there, meeting up with friends they hadn't seen all summer while they awaited the Sorting Ceremony. The teacher led the group of first years to a small, empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in more closely than Vivi liked and peered about nervously.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," the professor greeted them. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room. The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, our triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours. The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

Her eyes lingered on Neville's cloak, which was crooked, and then moved to the smudge on Ron's nose. Next to him, Harry tried to flatten his hair and numerous other students began checking themselves to make sure they didn't look foolish. Draco had a sour look on his face as he chatted quietly to a pair of overly-large boys who were no doubt future Slytherins just like the blonde (Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle if memory served; not that she knew which was which).

"I shall return when we are ready for you. Please wait quietly."

Vivi quickly straightened Neville's cloak and fixed the part in Hermione's hair then she took her own ponytail down, brushed her hair with her fingers, and put her hair back up. She examined Justin critically for a moment before nodding. "Everything seems to be in order with you. Oi! Ron! Wipe your nose off." She pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and tossed it to him. The boy turned pink but caught the cloth and began furiously wiping the tip of his nose.

**A/N: The Sorting is in the next chapter! I actually didn't do cliffhanger it like I usually do. Anyway, I want to hear your thoughts on where Vivi "should" end up. I already made the final decision and have written it out (by the time I publish this chapter, I'll probably be nearly finished with her first year at Hogwarts) but I really want to hear your opinions. I thought long and hard about her Sorting but I couldn't make up my mind. Finally, I made her a Pottermore account (FlameSpell24957 if you want to friend me/her) and took the test in the way I think that Vivi would. I debated it more after that and thought long and hard before finally deciding to take the Pottermore decision as my final one – I'm not telling you what it is until next week though! =P **


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